


The Hero of Fate

by orphan_account



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore trigger warning, Gen, Major Character Injury, Violence, mental torture/abuse warning. between family as well so warning again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-29 13:13:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 58,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6376183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Orphaned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. PART 1 - Chapter 1 - "Why did I leave you behind?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning.

“Come now, swing harder!”

Corrin swung with all her might. She managed to hit Gunter’s wooden “shield”, but he pushed her back easily. She groaned. “I’ve been at this for days! I can hit you, but why do you keep pushing me back?”

“If someone was to fight against you, and they were stronger, would they not push you back?”

“I don’t get why I have to learn all of this. You keep saying ‘self-defense’ this, ‘just in case’ that. We’re never going to get into a fight! We live on a farm in the middle of nowhere!” Corrin groans again, and stretches her arms out, falling on the grass intentionally. “This is so pointless.”

“It’s not pointless at all, Corrin. This is important business. I was once a knight, mind you. I know that this may seem boring-”

“‘-but it is a very serious thing for you to do. Practice makes perfect, and you need to be perfect when you have to save your life’,” Corrin says in unison with him.

“...I guess I can just keep the fresh rabbit to myself for tonight.”

“NO! You aren’t taking my cut of the meat! The rabbit is my favorite part!”

“Then we do this for one more hour. Then you ride around on Sebastian for the next hour.”

“Ugh, fine.” Corrin stands up, and picks up her wooden sword. After an extra hour of practice, and another hour of horseback riding, Gunter and her go back into the small house, and they fix up dinner. Corrin eats her bits of rabbit; Gunter, after finishing his meal, looks out the window solemnly.

“...You alright, Gunter?”

“Hm? It’s nothing, Corrin. Don’t worry about me.”

“I kinda have to worry. You’re my dad. I don’t like seeing you sad like that.”

“I’m not sad at all, I’m just thinking.”

“...Alright.” Corrin finishes her meal, and then moves over to her bedroom, putting out the candle inside. “Good night, Gunter.”

“Sleep well, Corrin.”

 

\- - -

 

Another day starts, as usual as the others. Gunter would wake Corrin up with a push and quick whisper, then banging a pan if she’s rebellious. Corrin hurries with breakfast, gets some rest by reading one of the books Gunter has (all notable for covering the topic of living life as a farmer, hunter, and/or girl finding love in the rural world), and then she finds her wooden practice sword and heads outside. Gunter and her practice, her improving on her one-handed swings, and him still managing to push her back with the wooden shield. Each day she improves, with a longer delay between her sword hitting the shield and him pushing her back.

Then one day, she pushes him back.

Corrin was swinging skillfully, aiming her sword right at the center as usual to try to push him at least an inch back. She put all her strength into doing so, then felt a sudden surge of energy. In what felt like an instant, she nearly knocked him down. He was shoved almost 2 feet away, and he had an incredibly surprised look on his face; almost fearful, which Corrin was confused by. She pushed her worry down, and smiled wide. “I did it! I finally knocked YOU back!”

“Yes… Yes you did,” Gunter says slowly. “...Let’s cut out our practice on Sebastian today.”

“Alright! Early dinner!” She heads inside happily. Gunter pauses, then goes in as well. He serves her dinner: a stew of bear venison, potatoes, and carrots. Corrin eats happily, while he writes in his journal.

_ He’s been doing that a lot, recently. _

 

\- - -

 

“Corrin, wake up!”

“Huh?” Corrin says, opening her eyes. Gunter was above her.

“Corrin, please! Get up!” Sounds like thunder was rolling over the home.

“What’s… What’s wrong, Gunter?”

“There’s no time to explain, you must get up!” He pulls her up off the bed, tugging painfully on her arm; she winces. He then gives Corrin a bag. “This is all of your clothes; I need you to climb on Sebastian and ride off to the west! Just keep going, don’t look back!”

“What are you talking about, Gunter, It’s nighttime! And why is it so loud outside?”

“Please, just go!” He pushes her out of the room, into the kitchen. He then goes into his room, the sound of metal clinking together coming from it. Corrin spies Gunter’s journal on the kitchen table. As if willed by something, she snatches it and puts it in her pouch; Gunter then comes out of the room with a sword in a sheath. “Why are you still in here- Ah, forget it. At least you can take this.” He hands her the sword.

“Gunter, what is this? Why are you giving me it?”

“Just go!” He brings her outside, and pushes her towards Sebastian. That’s when Corrin sees great balls of flame and giant spears flying overhead. She takes a moment to stare, then Gunter pushes her again. “Climb on and GO!” She reluctantly hops on, and Gunter ties her bag to Sebastian’s saddle. “Go!”

“Gunter… What’s going on? Why are there fireballs and arrows flying through the sky? What’s happening?”

“Just GO!”

She looks back at him, then rides off.

_ What am I doing? _

_I shouldn’t leave him there… I need to go back!_ _I… Why can’t I go back… What’s wrong, Gunter…_

Corrin looks down to her feet. She prepares to bring Sebastian to turn around, turning her head to look back.

A ball of flame strikes her home, reducing it to ash.

 

\- - -

 

Corrin finds herself moving through the wide open plains west of where her home was, the sound of the battle growing quieter as she moves on. The moon rises higher in the foggy sky. She looks down at the ground rolling by as Sebastian gallops along. The grass turned grayer as he continued forward, and she looked up, seeing something that looked imposing, like a great forest. It grew larger as she went forward; she saw strange buildings, made of stone, with a great wall surrounding it in the shape of a circle. She gets off Sebastian, holding him by the reins as she walked around the wall. That’s when she came face to face with a man in iron clothing, shaped in an angular form.

“Hey, kid, what are you doing wandering out here like that?”

“Ah… Me? I uh… Just… I just came here… I… I need to find a home.”

“...An orphan, huh? The first of many I guess…” Corrin looked confused, tossing the word ‘ _ orphan _ ’ around in her head.

“...What’s an orphan?”

“Not too bright for your age, are you? Well, it’s no matter. Come on, let’s go in.”

He walks forward, and she follows with Sebastian in tow. He reaches a great opening in the circular wall, an arch above her head with a great pair of doors opened wide, leading into a series of buildings split by a wide stone-floored path.

“Welcome to Fenmarsh. If you’re looking for shelter, go down that way,” he says, pointing to the right. “There’s an inn, and they have space for animals too.” She stops walking.

“...Go on, this place isn’t gonna hurt you.”

She slowly moves in with Sebastian, following the directions the man gave her. When she reached the building he pointed out to her, she reads the word ‘INN’ on a sign hanging off the side of it. She goes to enter, then the doors leading into it open wide, and she jumps back. A pair of girls came out of the inn, and the one with pink hair gasps.

“Ah! I’m so sorry! I nearly knocked you down the stairs… Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you shaking? Did I scare you? Oh, I’m sorry!”

Corrin found herself conscious of how badly she was shaking. She realized that she was cold, scared, and hungry at the same time.

“Are you alright? ...What’s your name?”

“I… I’m Corrin.”

“Corrin… Hey, could you help her out? I wanna bring Corrin back inside with us.”

“Felicia... are you sure you should just help some random kid on the street?” Says the blue-haired girl.

“Flora, look at her! She’s not doing so well obviously… Ah! Sorry, didn’t mean to talk about you like that!” The pink-haired girl looks down, then back at Corrin, her eyes apologetic.

“It’s alright.”

“...Say, Corrin, why are you out here with your horse? Why are you trying to bring it inside? You can’t bring animals into a building.”

“Ah… Sorry, I just did it all the time back at home with…” She finds herself stuttering, and it feels as if everything that happened this night came to a screeching halt in her mind. “W-With…” She starts to sniffle. “G-G-G… Guh…” She then falls to her knees. “G-Gunter… I… Why did I l-leave you behind…? Why…” She begins to sob violently. Sebastian whines, poking at her.

“Oh gods… I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to be so insensitive… Hey, Flora, get Millicent and Smith out here. I want to help Corrin out.” Flora goes back into the inn, calling their names.

“Hey… My name’s Felicia.”

“F-Felicia?”

“Yes, that’s me.” She smiles at Corrin, then helps her up. “...You look like you need a nice, long bath. Would you like that?” Corrin nods. Flora comes back outside with the two servants. “Smith can you take care of Corrin’s horse?”

“C-Can I get my bag off of Sebastian first?”

“Oh, yeah! Smith help her out.” Smith takes the bag off of Sebastian’s saddle, and hands it to Corrin. “Now let’s go inside.” Millicent walks Corrin into the inn.

“First Millicent will help you take a nice long bath, right? Make sure you take care of her as well as you take care of us!”

“Yes, milady.”

“Ah, thanks Millicent! You should probably take care of her now.”

“Of course.” Millicent holds Corrin’s right hand and brings her downstairs, and goes down the hall into a wide room. It had a large bathtub inside, and she readied the water while Corrin sheepishly undressed. After getting inside the tub, Millicent scrubbed Corrin’s feet, massaged her back, cleaned her hair (being careful to not tug painfully at the many knots in Corrin’s shoulder-length hair), and helped Corrin get dressed again, pulling out fresh clothes from Corrin’s bag and picking the dirt out of them. Corrin felt refreshed, and followed Millicent down the hall again into a wide room. Inside was Felicia, Flora, and Smith. Smith was preparing a bed, and Felicia was trying to talk with Flora, who was attempting to read. Felicia notices Corrin’s entrance.

“Corrin! How do you feel?”

“A lot better.”

“That’s good… Hey, you look really nice all cleaned up like that. Your blond hair is really clean, and your skin looks so smooth!”

“O-Oh, uh…” Corrin blushes a bit, which makes Felicia giggle a bit.

“Oh, look at you! You’re so cute!” Corrin takes a moment to bounce that word around in her head.  _ Cute… I wonder what that’s like… Does she mean I look good? _

“Oh… yeah, I guess I am cute.”

“Flora, tomorrow me, you, and Corrin are going to have a night out on the town. You’d like that, right Corrin?”

“What do you mean?”

“We have some fun! Go relax, have a nice dinner, see the sights. Our father sent us off her to enjoy a few months away from home, and we can easily fit another girl into the picture. He’ll understand if I made a friend here.”

“...Friend? You see me as a friend?”

“Yeah!”

“Felicia, you just met the girl,” Flora says.

“Well, still. I just have a good feeling from you, Corrin. I think it’d be fun if we all just decided to hang out for a night.”

“...That doesn’t sound too bad,” Flora says, smiling a bit. She closed her book, then her eyes moved to Corrin. “You do look cute, Corrin.”

“Thank you,” Corrin replies, still sheepish.

“Let’s head to bed, though. It’s late,” Flora says, standing up. Felicia yawns, and stretches.

“You’re right, Flora. I’m going to head to my room now,” she says. “Sleep well, you two! And you too, Smith and Millicent!”

Flora heads to her room. “Sleep well.” Corrin is left alone with Smith and Millicent.

“Corrin, you can lay down on this bed here,” Millicent says, patting the bedsheet. Corrin lays down, and finds herself unable to keep her eyes open as she pulls the blanket over herself.


	2. PART 1 - Chapter 2 - "I see you are a strong eater."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nightmare, followed by a dream.

Sounds like thunder rained overhead, the sky itself filled with fire. All around, trees were burning, breaking apart, smoke clouding the burning air.  
She was so small. She was so scared.  
She crumpled up into a ball, and tried her best to breathe. She couldn’t.  
Why did I leave you? Why am I alone?  
Are they really… friends?  
The fire grew intensely, the air heating up to a scalding degree. Pain gripped her tightly. The fire licked her skin, slowly creeping over her entire body. She tried to scream, but her lungs were filled with smoke and not air. The earth then falls beneath her, and she lands on the cold stone of the floor under her bed.  
Corrin was covered in sweat; panting, she climbed up slowly. She then noticed that the bed had broken downwards on her side, and she couldn’t rest on it again. She sat back against the wall, holding her legs tight. Why is this happening to me? What did I do? Why is everything so different? Who are these people? These thoughts raced through her mind, and she found herself ready to cry.  
She opens her eyes to the candles flickering in front of her eyes, the cold stone on the side of her face, drool was pooled by her mouth, and Millicent holding her hand. Felicia and Flora were close, Felicia looking as her with sad eyes. Flora had mostly confusion in her gaze.  
“Are you alright?” Felicia says in a worried tone.  
“The bed broke under you,” Flora notes.  
“I… Nightmare,” Corrin mumbles. She wipes her eyes, dried tears under them; no, not dried tears, but a line of blood; something like a cut was under her right brow. Flora notices this before Corrin covers it with a rub.  
“That cut… It looks like something pulled your brow apart.”  
“I… Maybe I hit the floor on my head?” Corrin tried to remember the night before, but only found the vivid nightmare and falling on the floor in her mind. She was able to pull out her moving to the wall, but failed to find anything else. Flora had a confused brow, then shook her head softly, opening her eyes again and looking away from Corrin.  
“Millicent, give Corrin another bath. You want that, right?”  
“Yes, please.”  
Millicent helps her up gently, and she gets bathed again. After this one, Millicent gave her a different sent of clothes; rather than Corrin’s usual grass-stained tunic and pants, she got a fresh black dress. She was also given new shoes, and she walked awkwardly in them as she went back to the other room. Seeing Felicia and Flora, she noticed that her dress was similar to theirs, but with a white trim on the arms and waist, thin lines of black every few inches breaking up its monotony. A small pin above the buttons in the shape of a cat completed the look. She found herself going a bit red when Felicia and Flora scanned her body, Flora smiling softly and Felicia bouncing a little. “You look perfect!”  
“Ah! Uh… Thank you.”  
“You do look good,” Flora adds.  
“Thank you, Flora… What now?”  
“Now? Now it’s time for us to have a night on town!” Felicia smiles wide, and walks forward. Flora follows, and Millicent waits for Corrin to follow before filling the line. Smith stays, trying to work on the bed.

\- - -

“Another helping of steak, please!” Corrin says between bites. Felicia and Flora were looking at her in shock, having finished their meals twenty minutes ago, while she was tearing through her third cut of steak, after finishing her second bowl of shrimp and onion soup. She had chugged down a whole gallon of milk, and after this fourth cut of steak, she finally lets out a sigh of content, and slumps back. Millicent moves her chair to the side quite a bit, also uncomfortable with Corrin’s voracious appetite.  
“...Corrin, I see you are… a… strong eater…” Flora says quietly, struggling to find the right words. Millicent bites her lip, keeping herself from adding to the comment.  
“Ah? Sorry… I eat a lot of meat. Used to it… Always did it after…” After Gunter and I trained… She finds herself quiet again; to stop herself from crying she buries her face in a napkin. After cleaning her face and hands, she strains a smile. “Well… I eat a lot.”  
“I see…” Felicia mumbles. She stared at Corrin with wide eyes, before looking around. “Oh thank the gods…” She found no one in the restaurant staring at them, beyond their waitress, whose main thought was Am I getting a decent tip for this?  
“Well, Corrin,” Flora begins, after letting Millicent leave a generous tip (due to the nagging of Felicia) at the restaurant, “Let's show you what ‘fun’ is like for us of noble birth,” Flora says, holding her hand. The trio walks along the street, Corrin being led by Flora’s hand. First, they went to a shop filled with flowers, Corrin found herself a little sick in there.  
“What’s wrong, Corrin?” Flora asks.  
“Ah just… I know these flowers. I tried cooking with them, but they didn’t taste well; their smell makes me feel kinda sick.” Millicent looks confused at her.  
“You…” Millicent then bites her lip.  
“...You ate flowers,” Flora says, not so much a question but a disappointed sigh.  
“I thought they were herbs of some kind, like basil. I was wrong. Their smell just... I feel gross, I’m gonna step outside.” Corrin walks out, and sits on the steps. Nobles are very different than me… I’m… not surprised that they’re not like me, not being called ‘orphans’ like I was. She sighs. Gunter… What happened? Why were spears and fireballs flying around? Why… Why did it hit our home? What… happened to you… Gunter… She takes deep breaths, and shuts her eyes tight, trying to block out any sound. Then she hears a voice.  
“Corrin… Corrin…”  
She stops breathing for a moment.  
“Corrin, I’m here.”  
Gunter…  
“Corrin… Corrin…”  
Gunter! She opens her eyes wide, looking up, looking for her father.  
A girl with pink hair stared back.  
“Ah, Corrin! You looked like you fell asleep there… Sorry for waking you.”  
Corrin stops. “...It’s fine.” She picks herself up.

\- - -

Corrin and the sisters walked around the city for the rest of the night, Millicent following closely. It was rather uneventful, until they went into a small bookstore. Corrin found herself mesmerized; she wondered what each book was about, and scanned the shelves for anything interesting, moving her fingers along their spines. Her eyes then turned to two in particular: ‘The True Warrior’s Journal’ and ‘Twin Dragons of Our World’. She picked up both quickly, and walked up to Flora and Felicia. “I found a couple! Should I head back to the inn?” she asks excitedly.  
“We have to pay for them first, Corrin,” Flora tells her.  
“...Pay?”  
“...Give them M-O-N-E-Y,” she spells out, “in exchange for their books.” She had an annoyed look again. Millicent moves her head to the side, shifting uncomfortably after Flora’s comment.  
“Flora! Relax, Corrin may not know much about how things work off her farm, but she’s trying her best.”  
“...Fine, I apologize, Corrin,” Flora says in an annoyed tone with her brows still furrowed, looking away from Corrin. They buy a few books, and Corrin holds onto hers tightly rather than letting Millicent hold it. When they get back home, Corrin jumps on the soft couch, and takes off her shoes. “I’m going to read, alright?”  
“Let’s get dressed into something more comfortable, first!” Felicia says happily. “Millicent, Smith, can you grab us some warmer clothes?”  
“Oh, I can just wear my usual stuff,” Corrin says.  
“Not here. We’re gonna get you all dressed up, like a proper lady,” Felicia says. “Millicent can you please get a fresh nightgown for Corrin?”  
“Yes, mistress.” She walks out into another room. The sisters also get dressed down, and after they’re all comfortable, the three sit inside the main room. Felicia was humming, carefully drinking tea while Millicent sat next to her with a soft towel. Corrin began to read.

\- - -

“‘The True Warrior’s Journal’...” Corrin brushes off some dust on the book and opens to the preface. She reads it silently.  
‘This book does not contain a story. It contains a personal journal, that if I were to die, it would be published in my stead, for the world to know the truth of this war.’ She mumbles out the author’s name.  
“Noh… gah-ro… ‘Nogaro’.”  
She continues.  
‘There are, or were, if history has been written, two kingdoms. One of darkness, filled with ambition and unity, and one of light, filled with animosity and prosperity. To avoid controversy, I shall only describe these lands; to state names could result in censorship of this important text.  
The kingdom of darkness had a ruler, kind and wise, but with goals that would require strength beyond a human’s power.  
The kingdom of light had a ruler, fierce and terrible, with the power to rule over a great land.  
These rulers met in a neutral country, before this war began. The one of darkness wanted to gain more power; the one of light wanted to establish dominance.  
The ruler of light had brought along his wife, a beautiful maiden, whose royal heritage was the source of his sovereignty. She had disappeared for a night, causing the palace where they met to go into a panic. When she reappeared the day after, the ruler of light had her sent home. This seemingly trivial night and action had begun a series of events leading to the start of the war.  
While the peace talks went on for the whole of three months, the queen had become pregnant; the king rushed back home, bringing a representative of the kingdom of darkness to continue the peace talks in the king’s stead. Due to the delays caused by messengers, the continued peace talks took 6 more months, in which the wife eventually sired children. Twins, one blessed with pale skin and blue hair like the queen’s pure bloodline, the other, however, having blond hair and a strong nose, the signs of a different father. Her infidelity killed her, as she had a heart attack after giving birth to the twins. Within the night, before the king could even see his own children, they had disappeared along with a retainer of the queen and the representative of the kingdom of darkness.  
In rage, the king had the messenger who came to the kingdom of light executed, his body sent back as a declaration of war. Nine years have passed. I can only pray that this war, which has claimed what could be two million lives, will end soon.’

\- - -

Corrin closes the book. Flora and Felicia had retired to their room, not interrupting her concentration on the journal. She sits for a moment.  
“...Twins…? Why do I… feel like… I already know this story?”  
She looks down, trying to remove the confusion from her mind. She gives up, sighing, then puts the book by her bag. She lays down and sleeps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2, all set. I've got 2 more chapters after this to wrap up part 1 of the story. After each part, I'll take a long break to finish the next few chapters, so that way I can release them at a steady pace by queuing the chapters. I hope you enjoy this one, and that you keep reading the rest of the story!


	3. PART 1 - Chapter 3 - "Is there something wrong with me?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is she?

A deafening crash woke up the girls. They all jumped up, and the sisters went into the main room where Corrin slept. They all had panic on their faces, and Smith and Millicent hurried out with their bags, giving them outfits warmer than their nightgowns, which they hurriedly threw on. Corrin tossed on her jacket that was inside her bag, which was better suited to outside than the nobles’ outfits. They all rushed to pack their bags, only bringing their clothes, books, and emergency food with them. Corrin stops to grab her bag, and they rush her forward. “Come on, Corrin! We have to go!” Felicia shouts from down the hall.

“I… You can go on ahead! Set up the carriage!” Corrin yells back. Felicia pauses, looking down, then bites her lip. She nods to herself and hurries upstairs with Flora and the servants. Corrin then freezes, remembering something important. “TAKE SEBASTIAN WITH YOU!” she yells again.

No response.

Corrin grabs the ‘Warrior’s Journal’ and rushes upstairs. Everyone else in the inn had already left; she heard the city in a panic outside, giant crashes making the ground shake. She runs outside, to the spot reserved for animals, and saw that the sisters’ carriage was gone. Sebastian was panicking, still tied up. Corrin runs to him, freeing him then stroking his side, mumbling “We’re going to be alright… Let’s go, okay? We’ll be safe soon.” Sebastian settles slightly, going still for Corrin to hop on. She climbs on his saddle, tying her bag to it, and rides out to the street. People were rushing to the southern and eastern gates, the streets clogged. In the northern and western areas, giant boulders, spears which Corrin heard one of the armored guards call ‘bolts’, and scorched spaces covered the land. The guards formed up behind a building for cover, then moved forward. They charged outside of Corrin’s view, and she began to leave with Sebastian. Seeing Felicia’s carriage, she speeds Sebastian up between gaps in the crowd. She reaches them, and Flora notices her riding along.

“Corrin!” she yells in shock.

“Flora! Felicia! I’m coming with you! But… You can hurry without me!”

“Corrin, we won’t go without you!” Felicia yells.

“Felicia!” Flora shouts. She moves up to her and their voices are drowned out by the crowd. That’s when a screech flies through the air.

A great boulder arced its way through the air, coming closer. The crowd begins screaming, and it feels as if time itself came to a halt.

Corrin blinks, and her vision changes. Gray veins covered her peripheral view, and she found herself off Sebastian, several feet away. She felt as if she rose up, her body going numb. She looks up again, the boulder arcing to her. It was moving slowly, as if it was being pulled back by the air. On instinct, she grabs the boulder, her arms thick and long with black and gray scales covering them; her ‘hands’ had turned into forms looking like clawed hooves. She grunts, letting out a roar as she pushes it back. It flies through the air a bit faster than its descent towards her, but still at a slow pace.

The gray veins move into the center of her eyes before fading out, their disappearance happening to a thumping rhythm. She finds the ground coming closer, everything speeding up. She lands, her soft hands hurting as they stopped her fall. She found herself shuddering, and felt blood trickling down from her elbows.

Sebastian nudges her, and she gets up in a daze, climbing up and clinging to him. He waits for her to steady herself, then begins to move. She manages to look up, and sees Felicia and Flora’s cart at the rear of the crowd, everyone else rushing out. She rides forward.

“What… are you guys doing?” She says through a headache.

“I… I said we needed to wait for you! And we’re going together!” Felicia says, a determined look in her eyes;  _ But… why doesn’t that feel genuine? _

“...Yes. We’ll go together,” Flora says, looking to the side, her eyes wide in panic;  _ What’s wrong with her? Is there something… wrong with me? No… it was just the boulder… Boulder? _ Corrin looked at her arms, seeing the blood from the elbows and her skin split on her hands. She takes a deep breath, then tries to think hard on what just happened, but a cloud of gray fills her head. She nearly falls off Sebastian, causing her to snap back into reality.  _ I… I can think later… I just need to get out of here… with Felicia… _


	4. PART 1 - Chapter 4 - "Are you some kind of monster?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is at the door.

After hours of riding, Felicia’s carriage stops in front of a small, but gorgeous home. Sebastian nearly runs into the carriage, Corrin halfway awake and jolting to attention when she saw the carriage stopped.

“We’re here,” Felicia says, relieved. “Come on, Corrin!”

“...Felicia, are you sure?” Flora says quietly, whispering in Felicia’s ear. Corrin hears this, worry and confusion filling her mind.  _ Am I… not allowed? _

“Yes, of course! She saved us!”  _ Saved…? _

“Didn’t you see-! ...I apologize. But we’ll talk later.” Flora looks angry, then notices Corrin and looks away. Corrin turns her head down, and then shakes it, getting the thoughts out of her mind. Corrin climbs off Sebastian carefully, still in a daze. She didn’t lose a lot of blood, but she felt exhausted, her arms incredibly sore, the tears in the skin of her forearms stinging as her sleeves hit them. She takes off her coat, and the sisters notice her wounds. Felicia’s face turns to a panicked one, and she yells, “Smith! Take her inside! We need the doctors to treat her wounds! Millicent, take her horse!” Corrin is taken by Smith into the house; Sebastian is taken to the stables. Corrin’s head hurts again, seeing the ground begin to shrink, gray veins growing around her peripheral vision. They disappear, and she finds herself falling for a bit, landing on her side. She began shaking, her body going cold. She blacks out.

 

**\- - -**

 

“Please, child. Don’t be afraid.”

_...Mmh? _

“Open your eyes, Corrin. Look at me. Look at the light.” Corrin opens her eyes slowly. Inky darkness stared at her. A soft voice echoes through her mind, soft whispers surrounding each statement.

_ I… I can’t see anything… Who are you? _

“Corrin… Please open your eyes.”

_ I did… I did… _

“Look at me, Corrin.”

_ At what…? At… who… _

“Don’t let go, Corrin! Please! Look at me!” Thunder boomed through the darkness, burning pain shocking Corrin. “Corrin! Stay awake! Don’t go!” Corrin felt as if she was falling, slowly at first, like she was sliding off of a slope. “Corrin, hold on! I’m coming! Corrin, please… Don’t leave me again…” Corrin found herself going into a freefall, a bright light flashing and shrinking as she went down. A final cry echoes down to her.

“C o r r i n . . .”

 

**\- - -**

 

“Corrin...?” Corrin opens her eyes, blinded by the light as she jolted awake. “Corrin!” She looks to her side, seeing Felicia. “You’re finally awake… Thank the gods! I was so worried… after you…” She goes quiet.

“...After what…?” Corrin managed to say, her voice soft and croaky. She saw the world in an odd shade of gray.

“After what you did in the city! Are you some kind of monster? You… turned into some giant gray and black beast! Your arms shifted into these claws, your head looking like some kind of devil! You… What are you?” Flora shouts with fury, turning into a terrified hush. She went from having fierce eyebrows, to them going up, stepping back from Corrin, putting her arms up defensively, wincing. “I… Don’t kill me…” She sputters, fear dripping from each syllable.

“ENOUGH, FLORA! I’M SICK OF IT!”

Corrin and Flora turn to Felicia, who was red in the face, screaming.

“SHE SAVED OUR LIVES! BE GRATEFUL FOR ONCE! SHE… She… She’s good, I swear…” Felicia quieted down, putting her weight on the table she was in front of. “Corrin you won’t… you won’t hurt us…” She starts crying, snot and tears dribbling down her face. “You won’t… right? You won’t… hurt us…“

Corrin found her head in a whirlwind. Then everything came to a crashing halt in her mind, and she yelped from the sharp pain filling her head. Great claws. Scales instead of skin. A boulder thrown away from the crowd. The earth shrinking underneath her, then falling down, her body reverting, her skin revealed under the scales. Her skin stretched and torn from the growth into that… thing. The thing she was.

The thing she is.

_ What… am I? I… I’m… _

“I’m… a…”

She blacks out again.

 

**\- - -**

 

The household was filled with fear and friction. Flora and Felicia didn’t talk, the servants uneasily going about their duties. Things turned to the worst after three days of Corrin still being unresponsive, in some kind of vegetative state. Felicia eventually comes to her sister, finding her outside of her room, next to the dining room.

“Flora.” She stood there in front of her, arms crossed, eyes fierce as the brows were turned down.

“What do you want?” Flora halfway growls. She found herself suppressing her anger, keeping it out of her face.

“Why don’t you trust Corrin?” Felicia’s brows turned up, her emotions beginning to rise to the brim.

“Why should I trust some orphan we met in the middle of the street?” Flora stood straight up, hands held together in the middle of her waist.

Felicia begins to express herself physically, moving her arms and bending forward. “We had some good times together! We hung out around Fenmarsh, we all had a fun time! We both genuinely LIKED her! We enjoyed each other’s company! We-”

“Yes, I  **liked** her! But when I saw that…  **THING** she became… What’s to like in that monster? What do you see left in her, with her becoming that?!” Flora raised her balled hands up to her chest, gritting her teeth.

“I see a friend! A friend that needs help, a friend that’s lost her family, that’s lost everything! All she has is her horse and the clothes on her back! And you dare to say that we should give up on her? That we should get rid of her?!” Felicia found herself bending forward, staring Flora in the eyes, feeling Flora’s breath on her nose.

“She can turn into a damned beast! A monster!” Flora yells, looming over Felicia. “Don’t you understand? She’s not human!”

“She’s still a person! She’s still her, a person with feelings and thoughts of her own!” Felicia shouts, moving back and shutting her eyes, her voice raising in pitch.

“So are you saying that all because she gave you the cute little sob story you think you can stand by her forever?! Open your eyes, Felicia!” Flora moves now, glaring at Felicia in the eyes, her breathing irregular and full of anger.

“I have! And I know that she’s still a good person! She defended us!” Felicia says, opening her eyes again, tears beginning to come in the corners.

“And who’s to say that she did that intentionally? She nearly changed into that  **thing** again, in our foyer! Can she even control herself?!”

Felicia looks panicked, her eyes darting around, keeping her hands tight to the top of her head, balled into fists. “Well then Corrin can’t… control herself in that… body… but she still-!”

“THAT’S WHY I CAN’T TRUST HER! SHE  **CAN’T** CONTROL HERSELF! DO YOU WANT SOME MONSTER UNDER OUR ROOF?!”

“ **SHUT UP** ! **SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP** !” A smack and grunt sounds off. Flora found herself tasting the blood from her cheek, Felicia crying loudly. “I… I don’t want to give up on her… I know she’s good… I know… I know it for sure…” She shuts her eyes, and falls to her knees, holding her right hand’s fist tightly. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I just… I don’t know what to do… I really do trust her… But… I’m sorry…”

Flora takes a moment, rubbing her cheek, letting her breath settle. She then closes her eyes slowly, and thinks back to a week ago. A single week ago, everything was so different. Corrin had just arrived; Flora distrusted her, but warmed up to her quickly. She saw someone who could’ve been a close friend. She had enjoyed time with Corrin, eaten with her, made her quiet laughs with Felicia and Corrin when the latter made a joke or acted without manners obliviously, picked out good clothes for her, even listened to her as Corrin read one of Flora’s novels; Felicia made it their nighttime ritual to read together. She makes one last broken breath, then opens her eyes, feeling upset at herself. Flora stoops down to her sister, and holds her tight. “...We’re both really upset. I’m sorry that I snapped on you. I just…” She sniffles. “...I’m afraid. I don’t want to think that someone I’m friends with will… kill me.” She puts her head over Felicia’s right shoulder, biting her bottom lip to keep herself from sobbing.

“...Give her one more chance,” Felicia says, her voice muffled by her head pushed into Flora’s right arm.

“...‘One more chance’?”

“If she does change into a monster again… But if she helps us… then trust her. Please.”

“...I’ll try.”

 

**\- - -** ****  
  


“...Corrin.”

_ … _

“...Corrin.”

_ … _

“Corrin… Please.”

_ …? _

“I love you, Corrin. Please… Don’t forget about me. Not again.”

_ …? _

“Corrin… Wake up for me. Open your eyes.”

_ …! _

“Corrin! Please… come back to me! I missed you so much…”

_!!! _

“Corrin! I’m here for you!”

“Corrin, we’re here! We’re here for you!”

“Both of us!”

_ Who… are you? _

“We… We are… W e   a r e . . .”

**\- - -**

 

Corrin opens her eyes, gasping. She was freezing cold and covered in sweat, starving, and hyperventilating. She saw two figures above her, gray blobs in the white light blinding her eyes. Her eyes looked up to them, and she tried to say something, her lips only managing to twitch in the slightest. Corrin blinked, and then they were gone. She stared up at the blank ceiling in the sisters’ countryside manor, her mouth twitching slightly. She sits up, wiping her lips. Standing up slowly, she finds herself falling on the bed again, too hungry to move. She tries again, falling on the ground, sitting up on her knees.

_ I can help you. _

She looks around, wide eyed. “Where did that…?” She shakes her head, the confusion leaving her mind as her hunger weighed on her like an anvil.

_ I’m here for you. Every step of the way. _

“...Who’s there?”

_ Don’t worry yourself, asking such questions. You’ll know who I am when I come to you again. _

What felt like a wave went through Corrin’s head, and she had to keep herself from dropping to her hands. At this moment, one of the servants had come into the room to check on her. Seeing her up, he shouts, “Mistresses! Corrin’s awake!” Coming in quickly, Felicia gasps, then runs up to Corrin.

“You’re back! You’re really back!” she yells, holding Corrin tight.

“I… Yeah… Back…” Corrin finds her voice weak and wavering, her stomach growling like a bear.

“Oh! Oh my, you’re starving, I’m sorry! Let’s get you some food! It’s time for breakfast too, let’s hurry!” She helps Corrin up, and Corrin struggles to move with her.

Corrin wolfs it down, stuffing her face, relishing in the first meal in the week she was asleep, a well prepared cut of lamb. Her stomach stops roaring, and she sits back, her head clearing up.  _...Was I just hearing things? Does that happen when you’re really hun-  _ “Grulp,” she chokes out, before falling off the seat and retching. She coughs, spitting more out, finding herself shaking again. She manages to sit on her knees, looking down and swaying. Felicia, the servants, and Flora who just arrived saw this disgusting ordeal; one of the servants helped her up while a few others went to cleaning it up. The one who helped her up wiped her face with a cloth, and she stood back, another servant helping her stay steady. “Sorry… Ugh… Just… Ate too fast… mgh.” She kept herself steady, leaning on the servant. “Thanks… Ulrgh-!” She nearly chokes, then pukes again, held up by the servant. The stench was getting to everyone, and Corrin was taken to the bathroom to be washed. She didn’t let anything else out, having emptied her stomach again. After an hour of cleaning both her and the kitchen, she’s fed again, and rather than the meat before it was just slices of bread that wasn’t toasted or fixed up in any way. After finishing this and resting, she managed to eat more until she was full.

“...So… Corrin…” Flora begins, wincing at the sight of her, praying that she wouldn’t vomit again. “You’re awake. I’m glad…” A step back. “Are you feeling alright enough?”

“Ignoring my… stomach problems,” Corrin says sheepish and shameful, “I do feel better.” She forces a weak smile at Flora. Felicia comes in, pinching her nose until noticing that the smell was gone. She mumbles thanks to the gods for this, then moves to Corrin who’s still sitting at the table.

“So… Corrin…” she starts, biting her bottom lip and steepling her fingers. She perks up, smiling, and says, “I’m so glad you’re back!” She closes her eyes, and hugs Corrin. Corrin gives her a soft squeeze back, and then Felicia moves back. “I can’t wait… Well, my father’s coming back from our home back in the capital to bring us up there with his whole band of guards and servants, so doesn’t that sound nice? You’ll be in the capital, maybe even see Castle Krakenburg itself! Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”

“Krakenburg…?” Corrin tosses that around in her head.  _ Where have I heard that before…? _

“Yeah, the capital! We’d have to pass through Grayrock to the west, though. It’s a long way from here, but I think we’ll all enjoy riding through the country.” Felicia smiles. “What do you think?”

“...I can’t wait to go to this… Krakenburg. It sounds interesting.” Corrin gives a weak smile, trying to hide her confusion.

“Of course it’s interesting! Like I said, it’s the capital, Corrin!”

“Well,” Flora says, interjecting, “When is father coming?”

“Dad’ll be here by the end of the week; that’s what his letter said, at least.” Felicia turns to Flora, then looks down, avoiding eye contact. Flora’s brow furrowed and she looked like she was about to say something.  _...Something’s wrong here. What happened while I was asleep? _

“So how many days?” Corrin says quickly, cutting the tension short.

“...A-Ah! Just three!” Felicia says, raising her head and nodding. Flora sighs, looking relieved as her sister spoke. “Well, anyways, today’s gonna be dull, so maybe we can read together! Just like before.”

“That sounds lovely,” Flora says softly, making a faint smile.

“Let’s start now, no time like the present!”

“Right,” Corrin says. She bit her tongue as they walked to the living room down the hall, trying not to ask why there was such a tense and awkward atmosphere. They enter the room, and Felicia gives Corrin a book titled ‘The Heroes of the 10 Years War’.

“...’Chapter one, The Birth of the Heroes’.” Corrin clears her throat. “‘Our tale begins…’”

 

**\- - -**

 

‘...with, first and foremost, me. My name is not important. All that matters is the account I have penned down in this tome; uncensored, unabridged, only written to be accepted by the general public. Our setting is our the great continent we live together in. In this story, the main cast hails from our noble Nohr and the corrupt Hoshido. Despite my strong language in these descriptions, this is a truly unbiased account. We start off with a single day, a day that will go down in history as one of the most vile examples of Hoshidan cruelty.

The queen Mikoto had passed away after giving birth to twins. The children were nowhere to be found. Two men, one being a man of peace from our fair kingdom and another being one of queen Mikoto’s retainers. Their names are unknown, but from one perspective they can be seen as two traitors who started the war. Me? I call them geniuses. They took away two children who would’ve been raised by the tyrant king of Hoshido, Sumeragi, which could very well be seen as preventing future wars. Imagine the feud between twins of a tyrant after his death. Splitting the world apart with the hate they learned from their father… I shudder to think of the future we averted.

After this day, the king had the rest of the late queen’s retainers executed. With our messengers not knowing the truth of any of this let alone her death, they accepted the tyrant’s request to bring our generals to meet with his to settle what was said to be the final meeting before the world would be “perfect”, in the words of Sumeragi. He himself had come to the meeting with everyone. King Garon had to send his generals in place of him as he was back at home, celebrating the birth of his latest child, now the prince of 17 years, Leo. Alongside him was the only general left in defense of the nation, Iago. Iago was the mage general, who was tasked with defending the main capital itself. While there were lower ranking members of the military keeping order within the smaller cities and towns, the whole group of our previous generals sat at that table. Sumeragi had begun with a speech, a toast to the nations, in creating a “perfect world”. That’s when he had his magicians, the Onmyoji, strike down our generals. They had used hexed cups to paralyze our generals, while Sumeragi had the whole place torched; our generals, burned alive! And with the Nohrian troops outside watching this unfold, they tried taking up arms. But the Hoshidans had torched the barracks as well, damning the soldiers who were sleeping there, and keeping the others from getting any gear they might’ve left behind. What happened next was a massacre. Nohrians were slaughtered as-’”

“ENOUGH!” Shouts Felicia. “I… I didn’t think that story would be so… so… grisly! I… I’m trying to sleep tonight,” she mumbles, her eyes shut tight, and hands on her head.

“I wonder, who really wrote this?” Flora says. “If this is true, then… Well, it’s terrifying. I didn’t think that the world would be this... corrupt.”

“It’s obviously fiction, Flora!” Felicia desperately says. “There’s… There’s no way that any of this is true!”

“But how do we know that? It’s the only explanation we’ve heard for the war so far. ...No one’s bothered to explain it to us before. Well, no one’s really known how to explain it.” Flora looks to the side.

“Oh come on, that’s… that’s still not true! A kidnapping leading to a war breaking out? This isn’t some kind of novelized drama! That book… That book is that novelized drama! Everything all… dramatic for effect, trying to get the reader pulled in with suspense… It’s nonsense!” Felicia then breathes deep, claps her hands together and forces a smile. “I’m heading to bed! That’s what I’m gonna do, yep! Bedtime for me, no need for any of these stories!” She darts off to her bedroom. Flora sighs.

“I might as well head to bed too. It is late.” Flora then turns to Corrin, with a slight smile. “Sleep well.”

“Ah… You too,” Corrin says, looking up from the floor. Her eyes had been glued down there as she was taking in the story’s words. Flora walks off. “...Twins kidnapped… ‘The True Warrior’s Journal’ said that too…” She sits back, then takes the book with her to the bedroom they had set up for her. She silently thanked the gods that her bag was inside there. She wanted to do a lot of reading tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, the longest chapter yet! I put a lot of work into this one. But I have a strong feeling the next chapter is gonna be even longer. Let's just say, reading these books will give Corrin quite a lot of... knowledge. But will this knowledge help her to move through her journey? Or will she find herself opening Pandora's Box?  
> Yes, there are THREE different 'people' (a loose definition of them for now) speaking to Corrin through her mind and dreams. Don't worry, they won't stay a secret for long. And don't think I'm using the stereotypical "OH MAN... THE VOICES IN HER HEAD... HER MULTIPLE SELVES AT CONFLICT!" tropes, that stuff is just annoying to me. I just wanted to say that and get it off my chest, but if I explain it any more, I'd be spoiling the plot.


	5. PART 1 - Chapter 5 - “When are we leaving?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reading seems nice, doesn't it?

“‘The Heroes of the 10 Years War’...” Corrin takes a deep breath in. “Here goes nothing.” She flips to the page she left off on.

‘That’s when he had his magicians, the Onmyoji, strike down our generals. They had used hexed cups to paralyze our generals, while Sumeragi had the whole place torched; our generals, burned alive! And with the Nohrian troops outside watching this unfold, they tried taking up arms. But the Hoshidans had torched the barracks as well, damning the soldiers who were sleeping there, and keeping the others from getting any gear they might’ve left behind. What happened next was a massacre. Nohrians were slaughtered as Hoshidan soldiers tore them apart. Anyone who witnessed it? Killed as well. They felt no remorse doing this. They weren’t in Hoshido for the peace talks. They met in a country known as Izumo; a nation full of pride for its neutrality in the minor conflicts between Hoshido and Nohr. However, with the start of this war, Izumo was annexed by Hoshido. I met survivors of the Hoshidan invasion… Izumo’s military and governmental leadership was attacked before they even knew what was going on.

Izumo was the first step in Hoshidan dominance in this war. After this was the nation of Kohga. I shudder in remembrance of what the army did there. Where soldiers attempted to fight against them, they were cut down with ease. Entire villages were wiped out, demoralizing the Kohgans to the point that they surrendered within the first week. I firsthand saw these atrocities. First the ones who tried fighting back were captured, then their spouse, sibling, or child were forced to watch as the victim was tortured brutally. If there were multiple people close to the victim, such as a spouse with children, then the oldest ones were killed. I saw children, not adolescents only but children, killed mercilessly.’ Corrin stops for a moment, putting the book down.  _ I… That’s… Who would do that? No one… This… _ She steels herself, swallowing down her terror.  _ I need to finish this. It’s… teaching me much. I need to know this. _ She opens the book again.

‘The witnesses relayed the information to the nearby villages, who, if they took up arms, were put through the same hell. After Kohga and Izumo had fallen, the nearby nation of Mokushu surrendered before the Hoshidans arrived. The Hoshidans had taken all 3 countries near the border for themselves. But that was only the first step. With the generals dead, only Iago was left to defend the nation. His line was pushed back, Hoshido taking the exposed Nohrian land for itself; it had annexed the area of the Ice Tribe, forcing its people into slavery like with the Wind and Fire Tribes it took early on. But they were to be saved by a single mage, a man who had the ability to rise up and reclaim the north. That man’s name is Zola, our current mage general. The great tactician he is, he’s no doubt one of our most important men in the military. Hope for the south came in the form of a single soldier, who managed to hold his own in the middle of the Hoshidan army’s wake. Hans is his name. Hans, our other great general. He’s something like a saint, a saint wielding steel and wearing the decorated armor of a hero. But before he was our greatest general, he was a soldier. A brave soldier who stood against the Hoshidans.’

Corrin flips the page. “‘Chapter two, Hans’ Journey’... Well, I’ll keep going for tonight.” She moves her eyes to the next page.

‘Our hero Hans had been stationed the the city known as Grayrock.’ Corrin recognizes the name, remembering how Felicia said that her father would be coming to get them through there. She then continues reading. ‘He rounded up the soldiers there after the leader of their battalion was killed, and inspired them to fight once more. He first had half of the troops create an underground sanctuary for the citizens trapped in the city. He then moved on to defending the walls, using the most crude of refurbished artillery to push the Hoshidans back. The Hoshidans eventually surrounded the city. When they came to him, led by a man known as Haitaka, they sent a messenger asking if he was willing to surrender; he had said two words, two single words that have immortalized him, two words that kept the army strong and able to hold out for a week before the full might of Nohr came back, the two words: “Hell no.” The messenger went back, and was killed for bringing back the news that the Nohrians were still gonna fight. The Hoshidan army charged in with their full force, breaking down the wall. Hans stood face to face with Haitaka, iron axe in hand against a silver lance. Their duel lasted an hour while the Nohrian forces fought against the overwhelming odds, using their knowledge of the city’s alleys and streets to their advantage, splitting up and ambushing the Hoshidans throughout the city. They had suffered few casualties, while the Hoshidans had lost half of their forces in their mindless charge. Hans and Haitaka battled against each other, until the Hoshidans began to retreat. Iago’s forces had made it to Grayrock, pushing the Hoshidans out. The battle was won, with the soldiers in the city cheering Hans’ name. Iago gave Hans the honor of being promoted beyond a simple soldier to leading another battalion of soldiers, mostly comprised of mages and cavaliers that Hans was lacking. Hans took the honor of moving ahead and reclaiming the border, first in the city of Fenmarsh.’

Corrin pauses.  _ That’s where I met Felicia and Flora… Where I… _ A headache kicks in.  _ Where I turned into that… thing…  _ She shakes her headache out, groaning. “I gotta keep going… For this whole night.” She focuses on the book again.

‘Hans was victorious in reclaiming the city. He moved on to reclaiming the towns all around the border, using his knowledge of the land to outsmart the foolishly proud Hoshidans. The Hoshidans eventually left Nohr, regrouping in Izumo. Then disaster came. The Hoshidans returned in full force, charging through the wide plains on the border between Izumo and Nohr. Leading the charge was the tyrant king Sumeragi himself. Hoshidan artillery kept our soldiers from moving forward, Iago himself dying during the first charge through the line. Our Nohrian artillery managed to halt most of the Hoshidan army in return, but Sumeragi charged forward alone, like some kind of superpowered demon. He didn’t just evade the boulders, blasts of fire, and ballista bolts; he used his sword, the Raijinto, to tear them apart. Hans was left to face against him personally, despite only being armed with a silver axe. Yes, “only” being armed, that word picked specifically. Every weapon pales in comparison to the Raijinto’s power. It is beyond that of the strongest forged blade, lance, axe, and bow. Even beyond the best Hoshidan katanas, yumis, and clubs. A sword that is made for a god, in the hands of a devil. Hans held his own against Sumeragi, but it was a losing battle. All hope was not lost, however! Our king Garon, the noble Garon, had raised up his forces to help in the eventual push into reclaiming Izumo, Kohga, and Mokushu, and he arrived the same day Sumeragi charged in. He charged at Sumeragi while Hans fought him, allowing Hans to pull back. They fought for two hours, eventually stopping as the two of them lost all of their energy. Sumeragi then raised up his Raijinto, bringing down a blast of thunder to take Garon down. Garon then sent Siegfried’s own blast of power towards Sumeragi, and their blasts met. They were sent flying back as they burst back, Sumeragi burned with Siegfried’s power and Garon electrified. Both armies took their royals, and the war was declared over by the Hoshidan generals Kumagera and Haitaka and Hans and Iago. They said that for the lives of their kings, they were to stop the offensives against each other.

Next, we move onto the hero of the north, a mage known as Zola.’

Corrin takes a deep breath. “Hans, huh… He sounds strong...” She sits back. “Geez… I’m…” A yawn. “Tired… Really tired…” She rubs her left eye. “I guess I’ll sleep.”

 

**\- - -**

 

Corrin wakes up, the book still in her arms. She smiles softly, running her left hand along its spine. “More reading tonight… Definitely.” She sits up, stretching. After getting up, she digs through her bag, finding her coat. She felt comforted wearing it, glad to feel the familiar cloth of the sleeves on her arms after the hectic days she was awake for. She smiles again, and steps out the door. Everyone else in the house was asleep; the eerie silence made Corrin shudder, and she looked around. Her eyes moving to a window, she noticed that it was still dark. She decides to step out, into the cold air. Walking to the stables, she finds Sebastian. “How’re you doing, old buddy?” She sits down next to him, breathing in the chill, watching her breath fade out in front of her nose. “This has been… a wild time.” She rubs his right flank, looking up. The stars faintly glow in the light of dawn, four large ones twinkling down. Corrin sat there watching the stars, and one by one, they all disappeared; but these four stayed, shining bright even in the sun’s growing dominance. “I hope that things settle down now… Being able to go to a city again… Maybe we’ll be safe there. Maybe I won’t change into that thing again. Maybe I won’t have those weird dreams anymore.” She looks down and to the side, sighing. Then she sees something odd in the treeline.

There was a movement in the underbrush, the bushes shaking subtly, a snap from a branch on the ground. Her ears picked up the sound of a man sharply holding his breath, like a muffled gasp. No sound for a moment. Then a sigh, and the sounds of the underbrush shaking went away. She slowly gets up, and silently berates herself for leaving her bag in her room in the manor; that sword would come in handy if she was to meet someone hostile. Taking quiet steps, she slows her breathing, and goes to where the bushes shook. She bites her lip, and finds herself right in front of them. She quickly moves them apart, and looks at the area underneath. Branches and twigs were snapped around around, the grass indented in two areas, sizeable footprints showing themselves in those spots.  _ What was… Who was just here? _ Corrin notices more footprints leading into the forest.  _ Should I… _ She pauses for a moment.  _ If there’s something dangerous out there, I could go beserk. I’m not gonna risk it. _ She walks back to Sebastian, sitting in the dawnlight for a bit more. When she finds herself about to nod off, she breathes deep. “I’ll head back inside.” She goes back to her room, and flops on her bed.

 

**\- - -**

 

Corrin wakes up to the sound of metal and porcelain clinking from down the hall. She stretches, and feels the book under her rump. She puts it on top of the nightstand next to her bed. “Maybe breakfast is ready.” She walks down the hall, still in her old coat and the nightgown the sisters gave her. She sees Flora and Felicia at the table with a few other servants, Millicent among them. Smith was preparing food. “Good morning,” Corrin lazily says.

“Oh! Corrin! You’re up, good morning!” Felicia says, waving.

“Good morning, Corrin.” Flora goes back to eating, keeping that same neutral face of hers. Corrin moves to the table, and sits next to her. She’s served her breakfast- a well-cooked serving of ham, eggs, and bacon- and is given a napkin. Trying to remember the etiquette that she was taught back in Fenmarsh, she clumsily eats bites of it using her spoon. Flora can’t help but chuckle. “You need to use a fork,” she says, passing one to Corrin.

“Ah… thank you.” Corrin goes red in the cheeks, furrowing her brow and silently berating herself for looking like a fool in front of the people in the manor. She sighs, and begins eating again. After the three finish eating, they do the usual routine and sit together on the couch, with Felicia giving Corrin a, in her words, better book than ‘The Heroes of the 10 Years War’, a novella about the romance between a soldier who saves a captured girl from a noble house. Corrin begins to read, but found it hard to concentrate as her mind drifted to the other books in her room. She pushed through her boredom and continued to read. Through the hours she read, Flora and Felicia listening intensely,  they had arrived at the end of the book.

“‘He looked at her, and raised his sword. She felt true terror; after all of their talking, he still stuck to his duty and was going to execute her personally. She closes her eyes, and curls into a ball. The sword comes down. The hard metal keeping her leg locked onto the wall was hit, with him slashing again and again. “Dammit!” He says, chopping more and more. It eventually snapped, with her looking up at him with confused and hopeful eyes. “Let’s go, we don’t have any time to spare!” He helps her up, and pulls her with him. “Oh gods, is there really no alternative?” He says to himself.

“What are you talking about, Coral?” She says, with worried eyes.

“We need to go out through the back entrance! It’s guarded by two soldiers… I’ll clear the way, come after me when you hear them leave!” He says, a determined look in his eyes. He rushes upstairs, and she hears his heavy steps above him. After muffled voices sound off, metal on metal echoes through the stone prison, and muffled screams go through. His steps come back, and he stands in her view. “Hurry, Eliza! Kadir and Keala can’t wait any longer, the soldiers heard those screams! We need to get to the cart!” They run up the stairs together, and as they go through the hall, Coral hears soldiers form up behind them. “Keep going, Eliza! I’ll hold them off!”

“I can’t go without you, Coral!”

“Just run!” He raises his sword, and fights off some soldiers who charged ahead. He then rushes behind him, and takes the torch he had sitting against the stone wall outside. He lights it, and throws it back inside, the flames setting the rug on fire. The other soldiers hurry back, avoiding the fire as they ran away from the exit. Coral runs to the cart, and yells, “Go!” to Kadir and Keala. They flee from the prison, and when it disappeared over the horizon, Eliza cheers. “Coral, you saved me!”

“What about us?” Keala says in an annoyed tone.

“Ah, you guys too,” Eliza says quickly, like they were afterthoughts.’”  _ How rude,  _ Corrin thinks. Going back to the book, she reads the final sentences. “‘And so the four of them escaped to the safe territory of Kotan. Eliza and Coral were shortly married, Keala being the best man, and Kadir whining over it. Despite this, they still held a fast friendship, and stood together for the rest of their lives.’ The end,” Corrin says, glad to have finished that plodding book.

“That was so good!” Felicia says, clapping. “The way they kissed earlier in the story… I nearly cried!”

Flora gives a forced smile and nod. “Yes it was… good.” She looked at Felicia with an odd glance. Corrin sighs. “We should probably not read anything else for today,” Flora adds. Corrin gives a fast nod.

“Aww… But I have so many other ones about knights and stuff!” Felicia says.

“Tomorrow!” Flora shouts in a panicked tone. “We’ll do it tomorrow!”

“Alright, tomorrow it is!” Felicia says, not noticing Flora and Corrin’s dislike for the book. “Well, let’s have some lunch!”

After the servants prepared and served lunch to the three girls, they sit back on the couch and talk more. “Hey Flora, I got a letter from Jakob.” Felicia says nonchalantly. “It has your name on it.”

“Jakob?” Flora says, opening her eyes wide. She stops for a moment, breathing out. Back into her usual deadpan tone, she says, “I’ll read it.” Felicia hands it to her. She reads the letter, eyes opening wide, then her brows tilting down. She bites her lip, then puts the letter to the side.

“What does it say?” Felicia asks in a worried tone, wondering why her sister looked the way she did. Noticing Corrin and Felicia’s presence, Flora bobs her head once, and shows her poker face again.

“Oh, nothing important, beyond one big thing. He’s guarding the princess Elise now.”

“Wow, a guard for the princess! That’s incredible!” Felicia says. Corrin still had a confused and worried look, still thinking about Flora’s face. She thinks about taking the letter to find out what it says, then winces, angry at herself.  _ Don’t invade people’s privacy like that… That’s just rude! _ She looks back up to the sisters, Felicia probing Flora with more questions about Jakob. “So he must be really well-respected to be in a position like that! I can’t wait to see him when we get to the capital!” Corrin smiles a bit.  _ The capital… I can’t wait.  _ She then remembers how long she slept.

“Ah! When are we leaving?”

“Two days!” Felicia says. “I can’t wait… Father’ll be here, then we’ll all go together!” She smiles wide. “...We still have a lot of time left today,” Felicia says, her tone going faux-neutral.  _ Oh no. _ “We should… READMOREBOOKS!” Felicia throws one at Corrin with both hands, having kept it hidden under them on her lap, and Corrin barely catches it.

“...’The Queen of Darkness’...?”

“This one is a really good one! I was on the edge of my seat when I read it before. It’s about… Well, let’s read it and find out!” She smiles wide. Corrin and Flora sigh. “Oh c’mon, guys! Let’s just read it!”

“...’Chapter one, The Crowning Nightmare’...” Corrin opens the book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing major to talk about this. It's mostly just filler, I suppose. But important filler! Kind of.


	6. PART 1 END - “Let’s make that our first stop, Sebastian.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so the true journey begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HUGE Trigger warning for blood and violence.

“‘...And so the knight stood before the Queen. “I’m ready to serve,” he says boldly. “I will do anything for my Queen.”

“Good,” she says. “Now you must do the hardest task of them all.”

“What is it, my Queen?”

“You must die for me.”

“Wh… What?” He manages to sputter out, before a great hand grabs him. He screams, as the demon’s arm rises up and throws him around. Battered and bloody, he stands up with his sword. “My Queen, you can’t be serious! I… I must vanquish this beast, that’s what this is? I’ll do it! I’ll kill it!” He yells, charging. She watches as him and the monster duel, before eventually his arm is torn off and he begins to bleed. He falls back and the monster eats the rest of him, a gruesome sight. The Queen-’”

“That part! That’s the part that always makes me shudder… She killed her best knight!” Felicia says, panting. “This story… It’s so dark… I never thought I could enjoy a story like this!” She breathes deep. “Sorry, please continue.” Corrin sighs, and opens the book again.

“‘The Queen laughs, and she looks at the demon. “My pet, you will enjoy your new power. I want you to go to my capital, and tear apart any in your way. Ultimate power will be mine.” She laughs again, the beast stomping through the castle, devouring the guards in its way. She looks at her staff, glowing with dark flames. “I will give you all the life force you desire… And I will rule the world in return.” She laughs again, and sits on her throne.’ Chapter-”

“That’s enough! We need to wait for the rest of it… Too much at once, you’ll get nightmares! That happened to me.” Felicia stands up. “We should head to bed. Goodnight, you two!”   
“Yes, goodnight,” Flora says, standing up as well. They walk to their bedrooms.

“Goodnight!” Corrin says as they leave. She then sighs.  _ Some time alone… I’m so exhausted. I’ll just read my books later. _

She walks to her room, and drops on the bed. She falls asleep quickly.

 

**\- - -**

 

A scream wakes her up. The sound of swords crossing came from outside. Corrin looked around, alert. She grabs her coat and puts on her rough shirt and pants. “What’s happening?!” She says to no one. Shaking her head, she grabs her bag, pulling out her sword, and rushes outside. Servants were locking swords with men dressed in odd clothes revealing their chests and bracers with blades sticking out from the top. She sees a servant push one’s blade to the side, then watches in horror and disgust as there was a sickening squelch as the servant’s blade went through the man’s body. He coughs blood, and the servant pushes him away, his blade slicked with blood. Felicia and Flora step outside as well, with Smith and Millicent running past them, pushing them back.

“Please, go back inside!” Smith yells. He swings his sword against one of the invaders, kicking him away. Then one charges forward at Felicia and Flora, Felicia pushes Flora back raising her arms up. Moving quickly, Millicent jumps in front of Felicia, and swings her blade to intercept. Then her eyes open wide, the man’s blade sliding through her right breast. She freezes, and then coughs blood, it dripping down from the right side of her lips. Felicia screams in terror. “Millicent!” Smith yells, before getting stabbed in the gut by his opponent. The blade is twisted, and blood spurts out heavily; he falls back as the blade is pulled out. The world then moves in slow motion.

Corrin finds herself sprinting, filled with terror and adrenaline, trying to get to the sisters. She sees one of the men smile wide, a horrible, terrifying smile, and he raises a blade, staring at Felicia. Corrin then manages to zoom forward, her claws breaking the man’s collarbone apart as she stomped on his shoulder. Blood spurted everywhere, getting in her eyes. Her vision red, she turned to the other invaders, her tail having grown, and she swings her body around, whipping her tail past the doorway Flora and Felicia were in, into three people in front of her. Roaring, she rampages, jumping to two others. She lands in front of them, just missing them with her hands, and and lashes out with her head, biting one in half and swinging her left claw at the other, throwing them aside. She swings her head to the left, and jumps in the middle of 7 of them. She swipes with her right arm counterclockwise, swinging her tail in the same direction, tearing all of them apart, sending their bodies flying away. Seeing no more around her, she starts to revert back; she went to a bipedal form, keeping herself prepared to change back if necessary, she wipes her eyes.

All of the people around the area were nothing more than mangled bodies, and she was unable to tell the difference between the servants and the invaders. Three servants were left, standing by the entrance to the manor, next to Flora and Felicia. Flora was sobbing, holding Felicia in her arms.

Felicia was limp, her eyes halfway closed, blood covering part of her face, dripping from the side of her mouth. Her left arm was mangled, the forearm practically hanging off by a thread. The bone was exposed, blood spurting from the arteries inside of the arm. She was twitching erratically, with Corrin’s ears picking up weak, broken breaths. When Flora noticed Corrin staring, Corrin still in an aggressive stance, she shot her head back, using her body to cover Felicia. “I-It’s going to be alright… Y-You’re going to be fine! Felicia! FELICIA! PLEASE! D-Don’t… DON’T DIE!  **FELICIA!** ” She screamed louder and louder, one servant standing in front of the sisters with her sword up, shaking and staring at Corrin, another servant tearing her overshirt off and trying to bind the arm, and the third rushing inside. He came back out with a staff, attempting to use its magic to heal her. She kept twitching and bleeding, and Corrin found herself roaring again. She transformed back into her beast form and ran into the forest, sprinting as fast as she could. Tearing down trees as she ran, them loudly cracking and breaking apart as she barrelled through them, she slowly reverted back, moving slower and slower, eventually just shambling forward slowly before tripping over an exposed root, and landing on her face. She started sobbing violently, and rolled over on her side, curling up into a ball. She left slicks of blood where she moved.

“Wh-Why…? Wh-Wh-Wh…” Corrin just kept stuttering, then screamed. It echoed through the forest. “WHY?! WHY WHY WHY WHY **WHY?!** **WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME?!** ” She screams more, sounding as if she’s become some feral beast. She gets up and rams her head into a tree, repeating it until she falls down, head burning with pain. “F-Felicia…” she whimpers, her eyes too dry to cry more. “F-F-Felicia… Flora… I’m… I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…” she groans, hyperventilating. Shaking, she sees her hands, covered in blood. “Wh-Why… Why am I… Wh-Why me…”

_ This is your fate, Corrin. _

She looks around, shaking. “Wh-Who-?”

_ Corrin, I know that you hate yourself now, that you’ve done something horrible. But this is what fate has in store for you. _

“WH-WHY?! WHY IS ‘FATE’ DOING THIS TO ME?! I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE! I DON’T KNOW WHY I’M LIKE THIS! I… I JUST…” her voice grows softer, her choking on air. “I j-just want t-to die…”

_ Corrin, you’re going to atone for this. You have a great future ahead of this. But to get to brighter days, you must see the darkest of nights. I know that you may want to give up now. But don’t. I’ll help you every step of the way. _

“...H-Help m-me?” Corrin sputters. “Y-You’ll help me… n-not be like this?”

A pause. The voice then continues.  _ Yes. But it will be a long path, a dangerous one. But fate will guide you through it. I’ll guide you through it. And together, we’ll end the evil that has gripped the world. _

“...I… I’m not s-sure what you mean… But… But if it m-means that I’ll be normal… Then I’ll do it.” Corrin stands up, her heart slowing down. Her head was still filled with pain, and she was still shaking, but she found her sorrow slowly fading away. She stopped, holding herself against a tree, and coughed. “F-Felicia… I’ll… Wh-When I’m normal, I’ll make up for this… I promise…” Corrin walks through the forest slowly, and finds a river. She walks into it, watching the blood on her wash away. She sits in it, and dives her head inside. She watches as the blood washes downstream, and looks up to the sky. Two birds flew overhead, one a dark raven, the other a pale dove. Then she hears the sound of branches and twigs being snapped. She slowly stands up, wincing.  _ I don’t want to turn into that thing again… Please… I don’t want to fight anymore… _ She waits, hearing the underbrush break more and more, the sound coming closer. Then she sees a familiar figure, and hears the clopping of hooves on the rocks by the riverbank. “S… Sebastian!” She nearly falls back into the river, halfway tripping, then reaches her horse. “Sebastian…” She holds onto him tight. A wave of relief flew through her, and she smiled. “I’m so glad to see you…” She steps back, and notices that he had her bag with him. “You… You brought my bag?” She opens it, and looks inside. There was some of her clothes, Gunter’s journal, and her sword. She looked down, regretful that she didn’t pack any of the books inside. “Well… I guess that this is it.” She climbs on him. “Let’s get out of this forest.” Her mind drifts back to what she read, and what Felicia had said. “‘Grayrock’, huh… To the west. ...Let’s make that our first stop, Sebastian.” She spurs him, and they ride out of the forest, finding a road. Looking both ways, she shrugs, and goes to the right. “Hopefully this is the right way.”

They ride off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus, part 1 draws to a close! I'm going to take a bit of a break while I work on part 2. Hopefully I can put up multiple chapters in one day! I honestly can't wait to get to part 6, however! It's gonna be my favorite to write, and the next few parts will be too. A favorite character of mine is introduced in there.


	7. PART 2 - Chapter 1 - “Can you help me out? Please?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new friend!

Corrin was still riding, and notices that the sun was still up, but had moved to the center of the sky. She was only able to use that as a reference for time, and sighed as the heat was getting to her, her shirt soaked in sweat, even after she took off her coat and tied it around her waist. All around her was open plains, the forests and trees long gone behind her. She felt thankful for that. Nothing to remind her of where she was, of what had happened. She gets lost in thought, then shakes her head, looking up. She sees something like a small and thin blob on the side of the road. It grew larger and larger, until she saw it was a person. Coming to a stop before Corrin ran into them, the person turned around, and opened their mouth in a huge smile. Seeing them up close, Corrin saw a young girl with skin like stained walnut wood, dark brown hair a bit below her shoulders, and wide gray eyes. “Awesome! Finally, someone on the road…” she says with a positive tone. Corrin sees a large bag on her back, an odd book on a strap to her side, and her wearing a large coat that was wrapped around her neck and down to her feet, which were exposed. She was covered in sweat, panting as she spoke. “Hey, could you give me a ride? I was trying to get to Grayrock down this way,” she says, pointing in the direction Corrin was headed, “and I kinda… Well, the cart I was in ditched me when I stopped to uh…” She turns red. “Uh…” She covers her lips with her hands, and then snaps back into a forced smile. “They took all of my money, food, and even extra supplies like clothes. So I’m in a bit of a sticky situation right now. I hope that there’s a village down the road but… Well, I can’t keep walking without food. Or water. Or a tent.”

“What about all that stuff in your bag?” Corrin asks, inquisitive.

“Oh, it’s important stuff. Important, maaaaaaybe cool stuff!” She gets a look of panic on her face, panting faster, then breathes deep and goes back to steady breaths. “Can you help me out? Please?” Corrin bounces the idea in her mind.

_ If we get into any trouble, I’ll… I’ll make sure I only use my sword. I won’t change this time. I swear I won’t. But still… There’s a chance and… I don’t want to kill anyone else. I don’t want to kill… _ She pauses, biting her lip.  _ Get her out of your mind, Corrin. You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. _ Corrin pauses again, quickly looking back at the girl in the thick coat, then away.  _ Don’t. Bring. Anyone. Don’t endanger anyone. Play it safe.  _ Corrin takes a long moment to think, to clear her head. She sighs. “...Sure, I’ll help you out. I’m Corrin.” Closing her eyes tight, she bites her lip.  _ Please. Don’t backfire on me. Please…  _ She opens her eyes.

“NICE! Thank you very much, Corrin! My name’s Zasha, and I’m just a traveling mmmmmmbard. M’bard. A special type of bard who… makes music.” Corrin thinks back to some of the books she read in the manor with the sisters.

“...Don’t all bards make music?”

“Nope! I’m a cooler bard who makes music, everyone else just writes poetry and sings it.” Zasha winks and gives two thumbs up. “So… Can I climb on your horse?” she says, going back to a natural stance.

“Go ahead,” Corrin says, smiling a bit. Despite her trepidation, she was glad for the company. Zasha clings tightly to Corrin, holding onto her with her hands on Corrin’s stomach. They ride off.

 

**\- - -**

 

After a long time of just hearing the hooves hitting the ground, the sun having barely moved in the sky, Zasha sighs, then breaks the silence.

“...So, Corrin, what’s your story?”

“‘My story’?” Corrin responds.

“Yeah, your story. Where you came from, what you’re doing, maybe even small talk about stuff you’re into or something. Whatever you wanna talk about. We gotta pass the time somehow. It’s getting boring just moving quietly like this.” Zasha looks at a blue thrush flying by them, pale in the glare of the sun, holding her right hand up for shade.

“Well, I came from…” A pause. “...from a farm. I used to enjoy time with my dad there until…” She bites her lip, and tries to keep herself from getting into a negative tone. “Until I had to leave.”

“Why’d you leave?”

Corrin bites her lip again, unable to hold her sadness back anymore. “...My dad… died.” Her voice wobbles at the end, and she swallows deep, trying to not cry as the memories kicked in again.

“Oh… Sorry for probing like that,” Zasha says in a low tone. “I should probably hold my tongue back,” she says, looking to the side.

“No, it’s alright.” Corrin takes deep breaths, then finds her composure again. “Anyways, I came from a farm. And I had to go because he died. That’s it.”

“I see.” Zasha goes quiet. “So, why did you decide to go this way? Just traveling for the fun of it?” she asks, cautious to not cause anymore harm.

“...I’m not sure exactly. I just felt like I had to go to Grayrock. Nowhere else for me to go.” She looks down at Sebastian’s mane. “I… heard about it from a friend.” She sighs.  _ Felicia… _ Shaking her head, she looks up at the road again. “She was a close friend, but I had to go.”

“Why did you have to leave?”

“...I messed things up.” Corrin looks up to the sky, watching a cloud roll by. “I messed things up bad… Had to go.” She closes her eyes tight, her brows quivering, seeing racing visions of blood everywhere, the bodies, Felicia and Flora. She opens them quickly, her breath having sped up. She slows her breath down, and shakes her head.

“...Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. That was bad of me again...” Zasha had a lower tone, then perks up. “Well, I should tell you my story in return! Would that help?”

“Go ahead,” Corrin says softly.

“Well, so… my teacher… at the m’bard school told me that I had to go and collect some… books of poetry and stuff. Big, important books, and then he told me that I had to read them to learn more about doing m’bard things.” She lets out a long whistle. “So that’s why my bag is so heavy. When we get someplace comfortable, like Grayrock or some small village or town, then I’ll start reading them. Are you into reading books?”

Corrin pauses for a moment, then nods. “Yeah, I am.”   
“That’s good, really good!” Zasha says. “We’ll be good friends, I think!” She smiles.

“...Why are you even in that coat? Isn’t it really hot?” Corrin says, turning her head back a little.

“Ah…” Zasha says, her eyes darting around. “I need to cover myself a bit. It’s cold for me. Yeah… cold. That’s it.” She whistles low.

Corrin shakes her head, deciding to not press the question further, despite knowing that Zasha was lying through her teeth. “So… any favorite animals?” Corrin tries to keep the conversation going.

“Oh uh… Cats. And birds. I like watching birds fly by, and cats are fun to play with.” She squishes her head against Corrin’s back. “How about you?”

“...Just horses, really. I’ve never really played with any animals that you’d have for pets. Sebastian here has been the one animal I’ve really been with.” Corrin finds herself shifting uncomfortably as she feels Zasha’s head compressing against her back with each breath. “Well uh…” She tries to avoid being rude and telling Zasha to get off of her. “Let’s… Would you read me one of those books when we get to someplace? Or make a camp for the night?”

“Nonono NO.” Zasha speaks in a serious tone.

“Why not?”

“They’re… secret and important! In truth, I shouldn’t have revealed their existence to you at all…” Zasha puts on a dramatic tone. “I should’ve kept the secrets of my magic to myself… GUH!” Zasha lets go of Corrin in shock, then falls off Sebastian. “OW OW OW OW OWOWOW,” she groans, having landed on the right side of her bum. Her bag had ripped, books and scrolls falling out.

“Are you alright?!” Corrin says, stopping Sebastian. She climbs down and starts putting the books back in the bag, carefully using a few to block the hole.

“H-Hey! Don’t touch those!” Zasha says, jumping to take them from Corrin’s hand. Corrin lets go and raises an eyebrow, confused.

“Why not?”

“There’s… really important stuff in it! And if you touch it then… it’ll get messed up!” Zasha says, panicking.

“From me touching the cover?”

“Y-Yeah! Kinda! Maybe! Yes?” Zasha continued to panic, stuffing her books in her bag. Corrin then moves back by a little bit.

“...So, magic?” she asks in a flat tone.

“...Yeah.” Zasha looks down, biting her lip. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

“What do you mean? Is there something wrong with mages? I was reading all these books before, there are huge heroes tossing around magic! Like Zola and Iago-”

“They’re not heroes! Well, they WERE heroes…” Zasha says.

“What do you mean?” Corrin says, cocking her head.

“...Iago killed Zola, and then stole half of the national reserves of food and gold; he probably sold it off to Hoshido or bandits or anyone else who’s bad in some way,” Zasha says in a defeated tone. “Then he made these things called ‘the Faceless’ and they’ve been tearing up the countryside for the years he’s been gone. I was kicked out from my home because they said that I’d make monsters too. A lot of mages from the countryside I’ve met have similar stories… Ugh. Why did I even think joining up with someone was a good idea… I’ll probably just be dumped on the side of the road again,” she says, looking away. “I won’t blame you.”

“What are you talking about?” Corrin says. “Why would I just leave you?”   
“Because I’m a mage. And I told you everything about what happened. Our mage general killed one of our greatest heroes, made those monsters, and now the countryside is against us; most likely the whole country, considering that thanks to the Faceless food’s been getting low. Shortages nationwide. Now, well... Now we’re just outcasts. Exiles. Pariahs. Personae non gratae.”

“...That doesn’t change anything for me. You’re a good person regardless of what society tries to paint you as.” Corrin looks up in the sky. “I’m kinda an outcast too… but for worse reasons.”

“What do you mean?” Zasha says, her tone having picked up slightly.

“...I can tell you later.” Corrin looks back to Zasha. “So, wanna get going?”

“Y-Yeah! Thanks,” she says. Zasha picks up her bag again, covering the hole with her gut, and the two hop on Sebastian. Together, they ride down the road.

 

**\- - -**

 

“Hey, is that a town to the right?” Zasha says, pointing to one path where the road splits. The sun was almost under the horizon.

Corrin looks carefully. “I think that is… Let’s head there, then! It’s almost nighttime.” Corrin feels her stomach growl for the third time in a row. “Thank the gods we found someplace to rest… I really don’t feel like hunting or foraging for anything.” She spurs Sebastian on, and they arrive in the town. A sign read, ‘Three Roads’ Rock’, the name of the assortment of buildings making up the town. They saw a large assortment of goods in the middle of the road, a giant boulder sitting far away, in the center of the town, and after tying Sebastian to a post near other horses, the two girls walked through the road. Some of the people gave odd looks at Zasha, still wrapped up in her coat, but otherwise they went unnoticed. Zasha licks her lips, seeing all the stalls around them.

“…Corrin, do you have any money? I’m starving,” she says, looking at Corrin. Corrin stops, and then checks her bag. She finds a smaller bag filled with some coins- gold, silver, bronze- and she shows them to Zasha. “Nice!” Zasha smiles.

“How much is it?” Corrin asks. “I’m not familiar with money.”

“Oh, it’s alright! Well, that’s a solid… Hmmm…” She bites her thumb, “3 of those… 2 of those… Ooh, that’s 16… Alright! We have… what counts as 462 pieces, 4.62 gold if you wanna be fancy. But each piece of gold is worth a lot more than the money system says.” Zasha pulls out 4 of the silver coins. “We can get ourselves a good meal with this. Or at least the food for it… We get the food itself! Then we can make more than just whatever someone makes.” She then looks down, putting on an annoyed face. “Cheap restaurants… Anyways! I’ll grab some grub, and you can look to getting us an inn. Ask the prices first! Don’t offer money first, that’s how they scam ya. Take my bag too!” Zasha walks off with the silver coins, and leaves Corrin to find an inn, after throwing her heavy bag of tomes at Corrin. Corrin brings both of their bags to the closest building labelled “INN”, the word carved into wood, and huffs as she walks inside.

“Welcome,” says the young girl at the front, reading a book. “Are you staying the night?” She flips a page. Corrin, huffing, walks up to her and slams heavy hands on the wooden stand in front of the girl. The girl flinches, looking up from her book. She noticed Corrin’s exhaustion and halfway broken back. “Y-You can drop that stuff right here!” Corrin does such, and sighs with relief as the bag of tomes slams on the floor. She keeps her much lighter bag, and pulls out the bag of money.

“Me and… a friend… are gonna sleep the night… How much?”

“W-Well, there’s two options. We have a big room with good space but one big bed, then two separate rooms. They’re really small, though, we’ve had lots of complaints about them. But my ma can’t just make a bigger second floor… Anyways, those are your options. Also the two rooms are on opposite sides. They’re squashed in at the ends of the halls. The big room is half a silver, while each of the smaller rooms is 3 pieces a pop. So the big room is cheaper, but if you want privacy, you can just pay one more!” The girl puts some forced emphasis at the end, trying to seal the deal.

Corrin bounces the options around in her head.  _ Well, she was really… cozy squeezing me. But if it’s a big bed, then there’ll be enough space for us to not be too close. But if not, I’ll sleep on the floor. Yeah, we’ll do that. _ “I’ll take the bigger room.” She gives the girl a silver coin. Getting 5 copper coins and a key in return, she heads up the hall, taking Zasha’s bag with her. Corrin puts Zasha’s bag in the corner, next to a small desk, and then drops on the bed. “Finally, someplace I can sleep…” She rolls on her side.  _...But today… so much happened… Can I really sleep well? _ She rolls around again, on her face. She lets out a muffled groan, and then rolls over again.

_ Yeah, it’ll be tough. _

“You again,” she mumbles.

_ I’ll be getting that a lot, huh… Well, no problem. I just wanted to say that you’re going to have to control yourself tomorrow. Something… worrying is coming. _

“...What do you mean by that?” Corrin sits up.

_ Well, you’ll experience the war’s influence for the fourth time. _

“War… So when I had to leave home, that was because of a battle. And when we had to leave Fenmarsh, that was because of another battle. ...So does that mean that the manor… People attacked it? Because of this war?”

_ Yes. But tomorrow, you won’t be facing anything as extreme as before. Just be ready with your sword. _

“...Alright.” Corrin gets off of the bed. “I guess I’ll find Zash-” The door opens wide, slamming open. Zasha was there, holding a large sack.

“Corrin! Yo! I got a lot of good stuff… We’ll have to cook it ourselves, but it’ll still be good! Have this apple.” She throws a bright red apple at Corrin, who catches it. Corrin immediately wolfs it down, glad to have something in her gut after half a day of riding. “So, we’re sharing this room?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I’ll take the floor. You don’t need to worry about me!” She smiles, and walks to the desk. “First, I’ll do some reading… is that fine?”

“...Make sure you don’t fall asleep late.” Corrin looks to the bag, and opens it up, organizing things. “Lots of good stuff here. I’ll make something good in the morning.” She smiles at Zasha, who already opened up a tome. Zasha was mouthing the words as she went, her eyes moving slowly to the right then jumping back to the left, rolling down as she read each page. Corrin eventually finishes sorting the food, and goes outside. She takes Sebastian to a post near the inn, paying for some food for him with the 5 coppers she was given as change, and then heads back inside. Zasha had closed the book, and was laying on the floor. The candle was put out. Corrin sits on the bed, then sleeps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the beginning of part 2. The first 6 chapters covered Corrin's introductions, and this part is going to introduce a few more key characters, one being an original character: Zasha.


	8. PART 2 - Chapter 2 - “Are you alright?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio is complete, and the journey slowly begins.

The inn shakes with heavy footsteps coming from outside. Corrin grabs her sword and goes, hearing Zasha groaning as she woke up before Corrin runs out and slams the door. Corrin steps into the light of dawn, and sees terrifying forms, standing tall and wide. Their skin was green, some a disgusting gold, and they had faces covered by masks with ten large holes puncturing them. Two of the monsters were running through the road toward a larger building, what was most likely the mayor’s home, and Corrin dashed, following them.

She manages to catch up to the monsters, and swings her sword at one’s foot. She cuts into what feels like the hamstrings, tearing open a gash that spewed purplish gas. It topples over, and she uses its face like a lever to bounce into the next one, stabbing it in the left shoulder, landing on its back. This one stops short, and tries grabbing her with its right hand; she feels its large fingers groping her back, then she pulls her sword out, trying to get off. The monster grabs her long hair with its hand, its fingers scratching her ears as it whips her around to in front of it. She kicks in a feeble attempt to leave its grasp, throwing a punch upward from her right hand, then is thrown up in the air and is smashed with a heavy fist, her body flying several feet, rolling painfully on the ground as she bounces like a stone skipping on water. She feels her body tensing up, seeing the ground grow smaller, then she puts all of her energy into stopping it. The gray veins creeping into her view began to disappear, and she stands up. She pants, feeling fangs grow and recess with every breath. She then roars a feral “GyaaAH!”, charging towards the monster, jumping as she aimed for its head, her sword ready to slash. She’s then smacked to the side, and hits the solid stone of a building. Her body tenses up again, and she puts more effort into stopping the gray veins’ growth. When she goes back to charge at it again, the first one came back, stumbling on its bad foot, and goes to grab her. She dodges its left hand, and, while dodging away from the right’s reach, brings her sword through its right arm, slashing it at the inner side then downward as she pulls it out, the arm dropping to the ground. She runs again, charging at its gut, and slashes her way through it, purplish smoke filling the air. The veins had receded fully, and with her head clear, she runs around the monster in front of her to face the other one. It had turned towards her, and swings its right hand to punch her away. She jumps, landing on its right arm, and stabs her sword downward then whips it to the right, making purplish gas burst out everywhere. It roars, and she jumps off. The other one had fallen, and it was slowly disintegrating into nothing, laying dead on the ground. This last one swings its left hand to bat her away, and she slices at it, tearing it open at the elbow. Smoke clouds the air around her, and she moves out of it. Turning back, she saw the two monsters on the ground, unmoving and fading into gas. She finds exhaustion gripping her, and she falls to her left knee, panting.

A chorus of roars sounds off in the distance. At this point, people have woken up, seeing the creatures collapsed. As Corrin and the people turn to the sounds, more were coming over the horizon. The people began to panic, and the local militia is roused up; but they’re barely able to hold their ground as the monsters come closer and closer. Corrin, having caught her breath, runs in front. She raised her sword, and gritted her teeth. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.  _ If there really are gods… Give me strength. _ She roars again, letting out “RUYAHH!” from the bottom of her throat, charging towards the group of monsters, and swings her sword to cut one’s left arm. She’s promptly smashed to the side; her breath is knocked out of her instantly, a thick hand having smashed her in the gut. She’s stopped by another’s hand, grabbing her. She was seeing black splotches in her eyes, then the gray veins creeping in.  _ Not… now…  _ The hand that’s holding her turns into a fist, and she was barely able to breathe as it squeezes on her. Then an arrow flies into the monster’s shoulder. It turns, and Corrin sees that the militia had roused the courage to attack, at least from afar. The monsters all charged forward, Corrin being dropped on the ground. She laid there, breathing heavily, feeling stronger with each deep breath. She found the energy to move again, and stood up. Her legs made her wait a bit more, then she ran forward again, every muscle in her body screaming with exhausted pain. She then feels another hand grab her, spit dribbling from her lips. One last one is behind the pack, and it continues to squeeze her, with her losing her ability to breathe. The black splotches come back and cover her vision, then she blacks out.

 

**\- - -**

 

“Are you alright?” says a soft voice.

“...Ungh…” Corrin opened her eyes slowly, and after the bright light of the sun stopped blinding her eyes, she saw a girl no older than her with cropped pale blue hair and gold eyes standing above her. She has a hand held out for Corrin to get up. Corrin takes it, and stands up shakily. “Who… are you?”

“I’m Azura, just a member of the militia.” She pointed her thumb at the arrows slung over her shoulder.

“I… I thought that those monsters…”

“We took them down. We managed to stop them with our arrows, then finish them off with swords and spears. You fought well, though. You managed to stop some before they took us by surprise.”

“Thanks…” Corrin leans on her for support. “Sorry… Just really… tired…”

“Then let’s go to the inn. That’s where you’re staying, right? You should get some rest.”

“Yeah… Alright.” Azura struggles to help Corrin move, trying to keep Corrin from falling off of her shoulder. Corrin is barely able to keep herself awake and steady, taking slow breaths. Azura manages to get her to one of the other members of the militia, a very tall and broad man, and he helps Corrin get inside the inn. The innkeeper points him in the direction of her room, and he helps her to it.

“Thanks…” Corrin stumbles inside. She flops on the bed, face-first. When the door closes, Zasha comes out from the corner.

“Hey… are you alright?”

“...Zasha?” Corrin rolls over, looking at her with a tired eye. “Where were you?”

“I was in here; when I heard all that noise, I just decided to huddle up.” Zasha looks down to the side, a regretful look on her face.

“...Were you afraid?” Corrin slurs.

“...Yeah.”

“If you helped out, I’m sure they’d understand…”

A sigh. “I’ve helped people, and I was still kicked out.” Zasha sits on the bed, her back to Corrin. “People don’t budge when they think they know something. Even if they’re wrong, they won’t give up with sticking to it.” She looks up. “So I’ve kinda just given up on it. Why bother trying to convince people I’m one of the ‘good’ ones? I’m not gonna be evil or anything, but I won’t try to prove anything.” Silence falls over the room, filling the air with ugly tension.

“...When should we leave here?” Corrin says, changing the subject. She sits up.

“Ah… tomorrow?”

“Sure. I’ll probably look to getting a full cart instead of just riding Sebastian together.”

“Aw, but that’s fun!”

“It’s tiring.”

A groan. “Fi~ne,” Zasha says, stretching out the ‘i’ for effect. “But can I sit next to you?”

“If you want,” Corrin says with a shrug.

“Alright! I hate being in the back. It makes me queasy for some reason.” Zasha turns to Corrin. “The day’s still young. There’s not much to do around here, but…” Another silence falls. “...You like reading, right?”

“Yes,” Corrin says. “Why?”

“If you don’t mind paying for it, we can buy some books.” Zasha gets up. “I can go solo, but it’d be best if we both got what we want.”

“Alright,” Corrin says, standing up. She grabs the bag of coins and opens the door.

 

**\- - -**

 

“EIGHT SILVERS?!” Zasha yells.

“Y-Yes, no need to shout ma’am!” the small shopkeep says, shaking as she hid behind the counter. “They’re the last ones in stock for each!”

“Argh…” Zasha looks at Corrin. “We have to drop some of these.” Zasha puts down her 6 books and Corrin puts down her two. “So that’s… 10 pieces per book?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Ugh… Corrin, we’ll go for just one each,” Zasha sighs. “Oh, great. You already have just two.” Her brows go down at the outside corners. “Well, there goes…” Zasha looks at her books with worried eyes, then names them off as she puts down some of them on the small counter by the exit. “...’The Lodestar’ duology: ‘The Prince’s Holy Blade and the Shadow Dragon’, and ‘The Dark Emperor Against the Heroes of Light and Shadow’.” She slides the two books to the side of the counter. “Alright. A few others.” She breathes deep. “That’s… Ah… Bye, ‘Radiant Blue Flame’. Hopefully we’ll meet again…” She stares intensely at the last three. A long pause.

“...Ma’am, are you-?”

“SHH!” Zasha’s eyes move faster, darting back and forth between the three books in front of her. “...AGH! I don’t want to lose any of these…” She holds her head between her arms. “...I’ll give up these two.” She slides two with the others on the side. Corrin looks at the names. ‘Love Stories of the Army’, ‘Romance of the Dark Blossom’. Zasha then puts the last one in front of the shopkeep. The title: ‘The Gale, Undying Flame, and Frozen Spirit’. “What about you, Corrin?”

“O-Oh? Ah… Yeah, I need to take care of mine…” She snaps back into reality, having spaced out as she watched Zasha. She turns to hers. “Hmmm…” She looks at each carefully. ‘The Golden Trio’ and ‘A Kitsune and Wolfskin’s Romance’. She sighs.  _ Why did I even pick this second one…  _ She puts ‘The Golden Trio’ with ‘The Gale, Undying Flame, and Frozen Spirit’. They pay for the books, giving the shopkeep 2 silvers, and walk out of the store, ignoring the shopkeep’s nervous pleas for help in putting the 6 other books back.

“Man… We could’ve gotten so much good stuff…” Zasha grumbles, walking to the left of Corrin.

“I guess,” Corrin says, looking at her book. She turns it over, and reads off the reviews on the back. ‘A must-read for anyone looking to hear about the great history behind the nations between Hoshido and Nohr!’ ‘If you know nothing of Kohga, Mokushu, or Izumo, this book is perfect for you.’ ‘I read this before my visit to Izumo. I learned enough that people couldn’t tell I was a foreigner!’ She opens the first page, looking to do a quick skim as she walked. On the inner side of the cover, a small doodle of a circle with eyes and a smirk had text over it. ‘I drew dongs over each chapter title. Now this book is actually fun to read.’ Corrin sighs out her annoyance, and closes it, holding the book by her right side side. “So what’s yours about?”

“It’s about three people from each of the elemental tribes, the Ice, Flame, and Wind Tribes, joining together to fight against Hoshidan oppression and form their own free nation. It’s… I wish it was true.” Zasha looks at the book’s cover with a serious face.

“...What do you mean?”

“...I had a friend from the Ice Tribe. We knew each other as kids, when my master had us visit the tribe’s village up in northern Nohr.” She looks up to the sky, still walking. “We used to send letters back and forth, until one day the letters stopped coming from her. I waited a week, then I sent one back to the tribe, asking if she was still there. If there was something wrong. No response. Then I eventually got a letter from an international delivery. It was from her, and she was talking about how I shouldn’t worry about her anymore. That she was in Hoshido, alongside the rest of her tribe. I didn’t know what it meant until I learned about how Hoshido had…” Zasha takes a deep breath. “Hoshido annexed each tribe, and forced them into slavery. When the war was done, they gave up on using slaves and left the tribespeople in ruin and poverty, living in Hoshidan slums. I didn’t know what she had meant by saying that I didn’t have to worry about her anymore, but… Well, I’m just hoping she’s somewhere better.” Zasha’s brow shakes, then she looks down. “...Wanna read this book when we get to Grayrock?”

“Yeah, we could do that.” Corrin smiles, and puts her left hand over Zasha’s shoulder, patting it. “F… Feel better?” Corrin forces the smile, and realizes how awkward her action is and worrying that she didn’t help Zasha at all. Instead, Zasha looks to Corrin with a small smile, giggling.

“You’re a weird one, you know that?” Zasha looks forward again, her attitude more positive. They continue walking through the town, until they go around a corner, Corrin in front. Zasha steps back as Corrin runs into someone, and there are two feminine grunts as Corrin and the person she ran into fall on the ground.

“Ah… Sorry,” Corrin says, getting up. She goes to pick up her book, but a slender hand gives it to her.

“No, it was my fault.” The girl stands up, brushing dirt out of her pale blue hair.

“Oh… Azura.”

“Ah… Corrin. Odd to see you again.” Azura gives a small smile. “Sorry, I’m just in a rush. I’ve been looking for someone to help bring me to Grayrock-”

“That’s where we’re headed, too!” Zasha says, her tone rising up. “We can all go together!”

“...Yes?” Azura says, confused. “I… I suppose so. I didn’t think you were headed there too.”

“We… Yeah, we are, but…” Corrin looks at Zasha, as confused as Azura.

“C’mon, Corrin. The more the merrier, right?” Zasha gives a weak smile. Corrin then realizes what it meant.

_ She wants people around her. She doesn’t want to feel alone… I know how that feels. _ Corrin looks down, then looks up at Azura, seeing her golden stare fixed on Zasha. “Azura, if you’re fine coming, then we can go together.” Azura looks at Corrin, then seems to open her eyes wide for a moment, then shuts them. A small smile, and she nods.

“I’ll come with you two, then. It’ll be easier to find a cart for three than two separate ones, anyways.”

“That’s great! We’ll be leaving tomorrow, so, pack your bags.” Zasha then snaps her fingers. “I can help! Do you want my help?” she says enthusiastically.

Azura steps back. “N… No thanks, I can handle it.”

“...Ah. Ah! Sorry.” Zasha goes out of Azura’s personal space. “That’s fine. Corrin and I can take care of ourselves, then.”

“We’ll meet at the inn,” Corrin says.

“What time?” Azura asks. “Should it be noon?”

“Yes,” Corrin says.

“Alright. Well, see you two tomorrow.” Azura walks off.

“...Well, Corrin, let’s get back to our room. We’ll fix up some dinner, then pack everything for the cart.”

“Zasha, take my book. You can start working on the food and packing your things. I’ll handle looking for a cart,” Corrin says, squeezing the bag of coins in her pocket.

“Alright, see you back at the room, then!” Zasha walks back to the inn.

Corrin looks around town for a stable. She finds one after about ten minutes of looking. “Excuse me,” she begins, walking up to a man standing against the wall of a small building next to it. “I see that you have a few carts here. Are they for sale?”

“Oh, yes they are. And so are the horses. You’ll need two horses for each cart… That’d come out to 18 silvers.” He smirks. “You don’t seem like the rich type, so you’re better off just waiting out for the rest of the month for the next caravan.” Corrin frowns at him, then pulls out the bag of coins. His eyes open wide as he sees its size and hears the jingling from it.

“I already have one horse, so how much is it now?”

“Ah… 14 silvers,” he says, looking to the side, embarrassed. Corrin smiles to herself, then hands him a gold coin and 4 silver coins from the bag. He lets one of the horses out of the stable, leaving its saddle on. “This one’s name is ‘Sunni’. Take care of her well. I’ll hold onto the cart for you.” Corrin nods, and takes Sunni away, holding her with a rope. She looks in the bag. 2 gold coins, 6 silvers, and 2 coppers were left. She pulls the string tight, and brings Sunni to where Sebastian was tied up. Bringing the two together, and buying more food for the night with 2 of the remaining silvers, she heads back into the inn. She walks into the room, Zasha having made a couple basic salads for the two of them; she had neglected to buy meat the day before. After eating, they both land on the bed together, on the opposite sides. Corrin, on the right side, rolls to face the wall, too exhausted to notice Zasha’s presence, already beginning to nod off and snore. Zasha, on the other hand, stares at Corrin’s back, finding herself in an awkward position. She doesn’t want to wake Corrin by making a lot of noise as she moves off the bed, but she also doesn’t want to make Corrin uncomfortable by sleeping on the same bed. She lays there, thinking, then gives up, and closes her eyes.

 

**\- - -**

 

A blue light shines bright. Holding up her hand to shield her eyes from it, she looks up to the light. A person was floating gently down, towards her, and she then realizes that she’s in water, sinking. She wasn’t drowning, or in pain, just in a state of torpor as she continues sinking. She blinks slowly, seeing the person coming closer to her. She felt their body against hers, warm, and whispering to her. She finds herself too lethargic to hear them. She closes her eyes, feeling heavy pressure on her body. When she looks again, she sees the person on top of her, a corporeal yet translucent form, their voice becoming louder, a soft, poetic one. She could only hear the words “Come with me”, repeated over and over. She feels pressure bubbling up inside of her, and sees the world turning gray. She closes her eyes slowly, then feels a body hit her back, opening them in a jolt and sees the wall in front of her, hearing snoring right behind her. Corrin slowly gets off the bed, and sees Zasha sleeping soundly, her mouth slightly open, drool hanging down from the right corner of her lips. Zasha’s coat is open, showing her entire left side, and Corrin sees her outfit underneath. It’s extremely revealing, showing off the inner sides of Zasha’s chest, a triangular design of black fabric covering most of it, with a strip of red fabric making a border between her chest and gut, which something like netting underneath it, making her dark skin take on a shade of burnt mahogany. More red fabric is wrapped around her waist, covering everything between her thighs, with black fabric at the far sides of each thigh. Black fabric covers her legs like stockings, with the red fabric coming back at the knees. Her feet were hanging off the bed, still bare. Corrin looks away, and goes back to packing her things, putting the books she and Zasha bought inside of her bag. Looking around, she sees one of the tomes that Zasha had begun reading on the table. She walks up to it, and puts it in the large bag Zasha brought. Corrin opens and closes the door quietly as she heads out to buy a sheet of fabric to stitch the bag’s hole for Zasha. After buying some and a needle for a silver and a half, Corrin begins to fix the bag, hearing Zasha behind her, getting up. She stands and looks back, seeing the girl rub her eyes, then fix her coat, pulling it tight against herself again. Zasha then looks up, and sees Corrin, jumping a bit.

“A-Ah! Corrin! Good morning!” she gets up.

“Morning,” Corrin says, turning back to the bag. “I left the food out, so we can eat something before we ride off. Can you make it?”

“Sure,” Zasha yawns. After Corrin finishes her work, they eat. They then pack the food in its own bag, being careful to not damage the contents, and each grab one of the heavy bags. Corrin brings her small bag alongside the food, and Zasha carries her tomes. Corrin brings the key with her and leaves it on the table in the entrance of the inn, and they walk out. Corrin takes Sebastian and Sunni, and makes her way to the cart. She ties them up with the cart, then throws the bag of food into the back of the cart, holding onto hers. Zasha throws her bag inside the back as well, then hops in, taking out a tome to read. “Can I wait here?”

“Sure. I was gonna wait on Azura by the inn, anyways.” Corrin turns around, then walks back into the town. She heads to the inn then sees Azura sitting against the wall of the inn. When she walks up, Azura was humming, then opens her eyes when she hears Corrin’s footsteps. She had a small bag with her.

“Ah, Corrin. Are we prepared to leave?” She stands.

“Yeah, let’s go.” They walk to the cart. Zasha was still sitting in the passenger side, reading. She looks behind herself, seeing Corrin and Azura, and smiles, giving a small wave. Azura walks up with Corrin. “Ah… Azura, do you mind sitting in the back? We don’t have any room in front.”

“That’s fine. I tend to fall asleep easy in these rides, so it’s better with me in the back. You don’t want to have me leaning against you as we ride over bumps.” She gives a polite smile.

“Alright,” Corrin replies. Azura hops in the back, and sits down. Corrin climbs up next to Zasha, and together, they ride off on the road to Grayrock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AZURAAAAAAAAA! My favorite singer is here! I can't wait for you guys to see the rest of this chapter, let's just say there are some... REVELATIONS COMING. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYVO5bUFww0


	9. PART 2 - Chapter 3 - “That’s impossible.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A big-shot appears!

Three uneventful days pass on the road to Grayrock. The girls don’t do much beyond eat and sleep, Zasha always absorbed into a book, and Corrin and Azura too brain-dead from the endless road to be in the mood to talk. On the fourth day, the road rolls by as usual, dark clouds hanging over everything. The trio never noticed it before, and Corrin only sees it when she perks up after seeing a giant tower in the distance. She looks around the sky, blinking a few times, and shrugs, looking forward again. “Zasha. Azura. I think we’re here.” The other girls get up as well, and they all look forward. They get closer and closer, the tower growing in size and buildings underneath rising up. To their surprise, the road continues for another half hour as they get closer, arriving next to a crossing, a sign reading ‘Grayrock’ and pointing toward the tower and buildings, while the sign below it, pointing to the road to the left, reads ‘Cheve’. They continue, and after ten minutes, they reach the giant gates closing off the city. A cluster of guards stood by, assigned to a duo of ballistae on two towers, and they shout from their position above the cart.

“Halt! Who are you three?”

Zasha shouts, “We’re citizens of Nohr! We came all the way from the border.” The guards above talk amongst themselves.

“So you’re refugees, then?” one shouts back.

“Yes, we are,” Corrin replies. The guards talk amongst themselves again. Then one disappears, walking out of view.

“We’re opening the gates now. You may enter.” The gates slowly slide inwards, and Corrin brings the cart slowly into the city. The guard who disappeared walks up to them.

“Sorry about that,” he says. “We just need to be watchful of who enters. Spies, you see.”

“Spies?” Corrin asks.

“Yes. Hoshidan ninja have tried getting into our cities, masquerading as citizens. But there’s one last step for us to be sure. Get off the cart.”

“Why?”

“Just do it, girl,” the guard says, getting agitated. Corrin and Zasha get off, Azura climbing out of the back as well. He walks into the back, and goes through their bags. He looks curious as he goes through Zasha’s bag, but just scans each book. Corrin hears him mumble, “Probably just some noble’s kid… They love their weird things…” He closes the bag, and moves onto the food. He rummages through that bag, then steps out. “You’re all clear to head inside-” Suddenly, he stops himself. “...What’s in your bag, ma’am?” He walks up to Corrin.

“Ah… Just some personal stuff.”

“Let me check it.”

“Can’t you make an exception?”

“No. Give it to me.” Corrin bites her lip, then hands it to her. He opens it, and pushes some stuff aside. He then hands it back to her. “Nothing to worry about in there. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” His brows were serious, then they go back to a normal stance. “Go on.” Corrin sighs with relief, holding her bag again, then hops back into the cart with the other two, bringing it inside.

She looks around the city as they ride, surprised at its clustered, busy state, something she didn’t see in Fenmarsh. She keeps riding, and looks ahead, at an intersection. She shrugs, going right, past another cart. She rolls along, and looks around for an inn that they could rest at, finding nothing, coming through more intersections through the road. As she rounds one corner, looking to the side, she jumps in shock as the horses stop suddenly, them whining as wood hit against more wood. Corrin looks in front, and saw an ornate, beautiful carriage with horses covered in decorative armor. Her cart was pushed against it; no damage was done, but she realizes that it could cause some trouble. She bites her lip, worrying that she hit a noble’s carriage. True to her fears, a young man steps out, with a high collar around his head, and blond hair held back with a thin band. An old man in a butler’s uniform follows him out of the cart as well, trying to bring him back on.

“No, Geoffrey, leave me alone! I’m going to them regardless.”

“Please don’t be rash, milord, I don’t want lady Camilla to give you another tongue-lashing.” Corrin hears Azura gasp softly, and sees her hide her head in the back.

“I’ll be calm this time, alright? I don’t even have Brynhildr with me. How can I destroy another cart without it?”

“You said that very casually… I fear that you would if you did have it now.”

“GEOFFREY, BE SILENT!” the youth shouts. He turns back, walking past Sebastian and Sunni, and standing next to the cart. “Who’s driving this thing? Come out.” Corrin finds herself shaking, and steps out. The young man had a unique set of armor on, his eyes shut, brows angled down and twitching. He was breathing deep, then gives a grunt of annoyance. “You complete idiot, running into another’s carriage, let alone a prince’s!” He opens his eyes, wide with anger, then his brows rise. “Y… You… Just leave!” His brows drop again. “Be glad I’m being merciful today, otherwise you’d be washing my tower’s floors for a month!” He walks back, Geoffrey looking at him then Corrin curiously, then his eyes widen at Corrin as well, before he brings them away.

“A-Ah… Master Leo! Wait for me!” He heads inside the cart, following Leo. Corrin’s ears pick up one last thing before Geoffrey enters and shuts the door:

“That’s impossible. There’s no way… Our sister wouldn’t be here. She… She’s never coming back.” He looks down, holding his head. “We never even saw her face. How can that be h-” The door shuts, Geoffrey sitting inside. The horses bring the cart backwards, then they ride around Corrin’s cart. Corrin hears Azura sigh with relief, sitting back up. Corrin finds herself confused, then hops back in. Zasha had her head inside of her coat, then she looks out and goes back to a normal pose when Leo’s carriage had left. They then notice that the city is completely silent in their area, people still watching their cart before going back to their business. Corrin sighs, and goes down the street that Leo’s carriage didn’t go into. She finds an inn, and stops in front of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first of the royals to be introduced. The main questions to come from this are:  
> "What's with Azura's reaction?"  
> "How does Leo know that the Nohrian royals have another sister, and why does seeing Corrin remind him of the missing sister?"  
> "Are we going to see more of the royals?"  
> "What's with Leo's collar not being inside out?"  
> "Is Geoffrey even important?" The answers are, "Spoiler", "Spoiler", "Yes", "I didn't find that too funny", and "Not at all".  
> And get ready for the longest chapter yet! I meant for chapter 4 to just be a chapter to show off Corrin, Azura, and Zasha's relationships, but it's growing into something more.


	10. PART 2 - Chapter 4 - “We need money.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to relax. Then time to think.

A loud thud wakes up Corrin and Azura. They hear pained groans coming from the bed in between them. Corrin sits up and looks to the left. Azura turns to see the bed as well, but she can’t see anything from her side. She gets up, and walks in front of the bed. Corrin, from her position on the bed, and Azura, standing, see Zasha, groaning in pain after falling off the bed. Then Zasha finally makes one last groan, and rolls onto her face. Thankfully, her blanket fell with her, covering her back.

“...Zasha?” Corrin begins.

A muffled, “Yeah?” in response.

“...You alright?” Zasha rolls over, her blanket falling off halfway, revealing her torso; she then hurries to pull it back over herself, after seeing Azura standing in front of her.

“It’s alright, you don’t need to hide it,” Azura says calmly.

“I-I-I uh-uh-uh wh-wh-what?” Zasha says, finally getting the blanket over her.

“I’ve seen mages before. You don’t need to cover yourself up.”

“W-Well… Uh…” Zasha goes quiet. “...Alright… Thanks.” She slowly stands up, the blanket falling off. Despite Azura’s reassurance, she pulls her coat over herself again. “I need a change of clothes… If those jerks back then didn’t take my stuff…” Zasha grits her teeth, looking down to the left. Then she looks back up at Azura, then Corrin. “So uh… How’s it going? Everyone’s morning going well?” Things go quiet, an awkward tension filling the air.

“...Why don’t we get some breakfast?” Azura suggests. “I think that breakfast would be good for us all.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Corrin says, grabbing the bag of coins, which felt worryingly light. She looks inside. 2 gold pieces, 4 silvers, and 7 coppers. She bites her lip, and turns to Zasha and Azura. “Is this enough for a meal for three?” She shows them the coins. Azura grits her teeth, her brows going down. Zasha brings a hand up, index finger raising, as if she’s about to say something. She stops, and her eyes dart around. “...So it’s not.” Corrin says in a tired tone.

“...I’m afraid so.” Azura replies.

“This is great. Just great.” Zasha turns to the stone wall, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. “Not enough money for food, barely enough for an inn, all we have is our vegetables and fruits,” she says, pacing. “Okay… happy thoughts. Let’s just. Calm down.”

“You’re the only one who’s really upset,” Corrin says.

“I’M NOT FUCKING UPSET I JUST WANT MEAT!” Zasha yells, before turning around, roaring a feral “UUURAAAAAAH!” and kicking the wall with all of her might. “MMMMMFUCK! MOTHERFUCKER! FUCK FUCK FUCK! MY FUCKING,” she falls back, holding her foot. “FUCK IT HURTS! GODS DAMMIT! I… JUST… WANT… A NICE MEAL… Something hot…” she says, beginning to choke up, as if she was about to sob. “Something cooked… Just… Some… meat,” she puts her head down, now sobbing. “IT HURTS SO BAD,” she yells again, crying. Azura and Corrin stare in shock, then Azura snaps out of it when Zasha tries to get back up. She hurries to Zasha, gently holding her down.

“You need to rest for a while. Your foot is already starting to turn blue,” she says, pointing at it. “And you’re crying from the pain. Take a moment to steady your breath, and let your foot rest.” Zasha groans in pain and cries at the same time, laying with her arms to her sides, tears streaming down her halfway prone face. She was staring at the very same wall she kicked, and got even more upset. “Tell… this… wall to… just… leave me alone… I... hate you wall… I hate you so much…” She continues to sob. Azura, trying to hide any sign of her feeling disturbed, pats Zasha on the back.

“It’s… It’s alright. You’ll be feeling better soon. Corrin, can you get some cold water and a rag?”

“...A-Ah! Oh. Yeah, I’ll get it.” Corrin snaps out of her shocked state, and heads into the bathroom, getting some cold water and one of their towels. She returns to Azura, who soaks the towel and squeezes out the excess water. She holds it on Zasha’s bruised foot. Corrin squats next to Zasha, opposite of Azura. Zasha was calming down, and shakily sits up, wiping her face with her coat. Corrin looks at Azura with a concerned expression, then back at Zasha. “Are you alright now, Zasha?”

“Y-Yeah… Sorry… It hurts so bad…” She takes a few deep breaths, stopping herself from hyperventilating more. “...I probably look like some kind of baby in front of you guys now,” she says, exhausted.

“N-No! Not at all!” Corrin says quickly, reassuring her. “You just got hurt bad, it’s not childish to cry about that.” Corrin gives a smile. Zasha gives a tired look back.

“Thanks.” Zasha then groans, looking up. “I’m still so hungry… I want something hot and meaty… Like a steak. Or fish. Or… something else that’s meat.”

“Now that you mention it… I want something hot too.” Corrin scratches her neck with her right hand. “Meat does sound good…”

Azura closes her eyes, brows locked. “I could go for something else than vegetables and fruit… Especially after three days on the road with just that…” The three all sit in an uncomfortable silence.

“...We need money,” Zasha says in a defeated tone. “But… Ugh. Today we go with our salad, then tomorrow, we go hunting for cash. We’ll figure something out.” Azura nods slowly, Corrin sighing and nodding. For the rest of the day, they stay in the room, with Corrin beginning to read one of her books. Zasha and Azura’s gazes are fixed on her.

“...’The Golden Trio’.” Corrin opens the first page. She furrows her brow in annoyance at that goddamn smirking doodle, a reminder that she got a ruined book and still paid a whole silver for it. “‘This book is the perfect book for anyone looking to visit the beautiful lands of Kohga, Mokushu, Izumo, or even all three!’” Corrin begins, putting on a mocking tone of passion. She sighs, pinching the center of her brow, then goes back to reading in a flat tone. “The introduction…” Her eyes dart from the crudely drawn phallus to the text. “‘So what IS the Golden Trio?’” She flips the page. “‘The Golden Trio is the-’”

“Can we not get into the big details? This is just some giant tourist guide, right? Just read the short bits.” Zasha yawns. “I don’t wanna fall asleep.” Corrin sighs.

“Alright. Anyways… ‘The Golden Trio is the…’”

**\- - -**

 

‘...name given to the three allied nations of Kohga, Mokushu, and Izumo. These nations have flourished despite the seemingly all-consuming conflict between Hoshido and Nohr. Due to their riches and strong military forces combined when the first war broke out and they feared being conquered by Hoshido or Nohr, they have cemented a great relationship between themselves, despite many cultural differences. In fact, this book was written by a team of collaborators from each nation, to ensure accuracy in the description of each nation’s beautiful features and culture! We hope that you enjoy reading this book and that it helps you learn about these nations.

Part One: The Kingdom of the Gods- an Overview

Izumo is a nation that is located around the Izumite mountain, where the capital is located. It’s filled with verdant plains around the lush highlands, with the typical flora and fauna of the Hoshidan side of the continent; the beautiful sakura or cherry blossom, mangroves around the coast, and Hoshidan beeches spread around the plains, then animals such as the ayu sweetfish, the giant hornet, and the national animal, the Izu thrush. Izumite culture is best described as a peaceful one, with a large focus on promoting natural beauty and hospitality between neighbors. For the sake of the pact of neutrality, they kept their borders closed to Hoshido and Nohr, but would allow Kohgans and Mokushujin to pass through freely, whenever they wished to enjoy a vacation within the beautiful lands of Izumo or had business inside of the nation. Crime is very rare in Izumo, due to a generous socialist welfare policy, good education and growth for businesses, and rehabilitation-focused prisons. There is a noble class, but their riches aren’t in a great extreme above the middle class; the homes are only distinguishable by their additions of statues or other expensive flourishes. The lower class citizens are only distinguishable for living within apartments owned by middle or noble class citizens, as poverty is prevented by the riches gained from taxes on the noble and middle classes going to ensuring that these people can have homes before they can fully support themselves. The only types who have truly expensive homes are the Archduke and other important government officials, such as homes for representatives or royal visitors of other nations to stay in while they are within Izumite borders.

Part One: Chapter One- The Land and Life of Izumo

(Pages are flipped until Part Two begins.)

Part Two: The Land of the Ninja- an Overview

Kohga is a nation located inside of the southern highlands, with green mountains and a dry northern border. The nation has flora and fauna native to the mountains of Hoshido, such as the Hoshidan black bear, and the unfortunately rare dugong near the shores, which was hunted to near extinction. In the much higher and colder peaks, red-crowned cranes, also known as Hoshidan cranes, make their homes in the snow. Near the lower areas the sakura blooms, with the surprising existence of unique Nohrian dwarf-pines in the colder peaks. It is believed that these came here from ancient explorers from Nohr looking to create a land similar to theirs in the Hoshidan side of the continent, and over time these trees have grown into new forms due to interbreeding between Hoshidan trees. Kohgan culture has a focus on honor and unity between its people, as each child is expected to join a school of ninja at some point in their life; those who do not are often seen as eccentric outcasts, and they end up making their lives as jobs outside of the normal market. They are not treated in any harmful way due to Kohgan hospitality laws, but are often distrusted for going against tradition. Often times, the people who go against tradition due so out of a belief in pacifism, a want in going to a field of work such as art, or simple laziness, in which the latter leaves them going to the lower class very quickly. Those who become architects, artists, bards, or poets often work for nobles or their local school of ninja to make the cities beautiful. The nation is ruled by an elected Daimyo, the ninja equivalent to an Archduke, who leads the military as well. His advisors are often shrouded in secrecy for the sake of their protection, and they help him lead the nation. There is a financial advisor, military advisor, domestic advisor, and foreign advisor. With their help, the Daimyo leads the nation carefully. He also directs the national school of ninja, with its teachings composed of a conglomeration between the 10 most popular schools in the country.

Part Two: Chapter One- The Land and Life of Kohga

(Pages are flipped until Part Three begins.)

Part Three: The Land in the Middle- the Final Overview

Mokushu is a nation in the northern highlands, with lands less lush than Kohga’s, but with a similar culture and landscape to Kohga’s. It would be redundant to describe Mokushujin geography and life, as it is almost identical to Kohga’s. However, there are differences in Mokushujin culture. For example, the Daimyo is descended through blood. When there are multiple siblings, it is decided by tests of physical, mental, and spiritual prowess when they are all of age to inherit the throne. If there is an emergency, such as the premature death of the current Daimyo, then their sibling who was second place to them in the tests or oldest child takes control. They have no advisors. Ninja schools aren’t as important in Mokushu, and so the land is much more like Hoshido’s simple social culture. In addition…’

 

**\- - -**

 

“‘...Mokushujin culture has a harsher legal system, which is a great deterrent for crime as there is a bigger fear of breaking the law.’” Corrin sighs. “The book goes on with the same format as the other parts.” She closes it.

“...Well, I didn’t fall asleep, but… it still wasn’t very fun.” Zasha yawns. “I’m tired from it, though.” another yawn. “Not surprising, considering that it’s just some tourist guide.”

Azura yawns as well. “It’s not even night, but I feel like I can sleep… Should we just call it a day now?” Zasha yawns again.

“Yeah… Goodnight, I guess.” She carefully stands up on her good foot, and hops to her bed, laying down, wrapping herself in her coat and blanket. Corrin and Azura go to their beds and lay down as well. They all fall asleep early.

 

**\- - -**

 

“Corrin.” A voice speaks from nowhere. Corrin rolls over in her bed.

“Corrin?” another voice says, softer, lighter.

“Come, Corrin. Come to the light.” The voices were entrancing, speaking in unison. Corrin opens her eyes to darkness. “You deserve to be with us.”

_ Who are you… _

“Corrin, you know who we are. We made you. And we want you back.” Darkness surrounds Corrin.

_ I… I can’t see anything… _

“Look harder. Keep looking. Someday, you might finally reach us.”

_ I don’t know who you are… Why should I find you? _

“You need to,” the first voice says.

“You need us,” the softer one says.

 

**\- - -**

 

Corrin opens her eyes wide, hearing the room’s door open. She lifts her head up from the bed, and sees Azura and Zasha gone from the room. She sits up, puts her shoes on, and walks out. She sees Zasha and Azura at the bottom of the stairs leading to the entrance, and she calls them by their names. “Zasha! Azura! Where are you going?” Zasha flinches, and turns around with Azura.

“We were gonna…” Zasha sighs. “Look for jobs.”

“...Oh yeah… I’ll come,” she says in a resigned voice. The three walk out of the inn. They look for a restaurant of some kind, as Zasha had said,

“I know for a FACT that girls as beautiful as us will get jobs as waitresses.” Corrin and Azura had given her odd looks for it, but Corrin ended up nodding in agreement, Azura sighing and joining them on the job hunt. And now, they have arrived at a large restaurant, packed with people entering, tables full on the deck in front.

“I think this is a perfect place,” Zasha says, entering with confidence. Corrin follows, Azura behind them both. They look inside the restaurant, and are greeted with the smell of freshly cooked steak, poultry, and even the smell of bread seasoned with garlic and butter. Zasha bites her lip, swallowing drool that came up with her hunger and lust for a meal as expensive and delicious as the ones inside the restaurant. Corrin finds herself closing her mouth as she began to pant, feeling like some kind of wild animal starving for a meal. Azura was the only one holding her composure, humming to herself. They wait in line, and when they reach the front of it, Zasha asks the woman in front, “Are there any jobs available here? Three in total? We were just looking for some way to get ourselves a bit of money, and-”

“Look, before you can get a job here, you need to get yourself an actual outfit. Hiding your whole body in some long coat with your feet exposed will make the wrong impression. We’re not looking for someone to go and flash the customers.” Zasha stood in silence, her mouth halfway open. “...Ma’am? Are you going to stay here and ruin people’s meals? Leave, please.” Corrin grabs Zasha by the right arm and leads her outside, with Azura following. They all sit on the side of the street.

“...I don’t have money for clothes and I need clothes to get a job.” Zasha hangs her head low.

“...How about me and Azura get jobs first? Then we can buy you something and get you hired!” Corrin says, snapping her fingers as the idea pops into her head. Zasha perks up.

“You’re right! I’ll have to head back to the inn, then. Good luck you two!” Zasha stands up and runs off, chipper. Azura sighs.

“You can head back too,” she says to Corrin.

“Huh?”

“I can get some money easily. You can go and enjoy yourself with Zasha. Spend some time together, I know you’ll enjoy yourselves. Even take this,” she says, tossing Corrin the bag of coins. “You can go eat some nice meal.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll get something, don’t worry.” She smiles at Corrin, a serene look in her face.

“...Okay,” Corrin says, putting the money in her pocket. She turns to the inn and walks off. She enters the room, seeing Zasha laying prone on the floor, her legs bent high. Corrin looked away at the sight of Zasha’s exposed backside, going a bit red. Zasha then turns to Corrin.

“Oh. Hi.”

“You uh… You alright?” Corrin says, looking away still.

“Yeah…” Zasha replies, before planting her face on the floor again, dropping her legs. Corrin looks back, then turns away again, Zasha’s coat still off to the side; in her completely prone position, Zasha was more exposed. Zasha groans. “I just want to eat something GOOD…” She lifts her head again, then stands up. “I’m gonna read my tomes… I have nothing else to do.”

“Azura gave me the money, said that we can go eat something.”

“I can’t go and eat when I don’t have good clothes,” Zasha sighs.

“Then I can buy you some!” Corrin says, smiling. “After that, we can go eat.”

Zasha turns to her. “...Alright, sounds good.” She smiles a bit, then jolts, pursing her lips with a face like an angry frog.

“...You… You okay there?” Corrin asks.

“I don’t want to tell you my size.”

“Why not?”

“Because… Look at me.” Zasha steps back, and turns to Corrin fully. She takes off her coat completely, and Corrin takes notice of a few things: Zasha was much shorter than she appeared to be now that Corrin got a good look at her, and that she was rather chunky in her figure. “I’m so gro~ss…” she groans, covering herself with her coat again.

“Your body is fine! And if you’re really that uncomfortable, I can just get you something a bit too big, then. Better to be baggy than tight, right?”

“...Sure, I guess,” Zasha says. She looks back up at Corrin. “Well, go for something comfortable for sure. Don’t waste our money though! We need enough for…” she licks her lips. “A real good meal… Some nice steak… OR EVEN… Fish…” A pause. “Okay that’s too expensive, but something good.”

“Yeah, definitely. Anyways, I’ll grab the clothes now.” Corrin exits, finding the nearest clothes shop. A small place sat in between another inn and a bar, and she enters. Grabbing a simple cloth tunic, pants, and shoes, she pays for them all with one and a half silvers, leaving her with 2 gold pieces, 3 silvers, and 2 coppers. She bites her lip as she brings the clothes back, and enters the room. Zasha was sitting on the bed, reading a tome, mouthing the words as she went through it. She flinches when she sees Corrin in front of her, and closes the book. Corrin smiles, showing her the clothes. Zasha gets up, and grabs them. She turns around, dropping her coat, to which Corrin turns away again, and then puts the tunic and pants on, before dropping into the shoes.

“What d'ya know… Perfect fit!” She turns around to Corrin, and smiles. Her outfit underneath was still visible on her hands, Corrin just noticing that it has something like sleeves that went all the way up to a part of her backhand. Zasha walks forward confidently, and the duo exits the room, looking for someplace to eat. They find a small bar that advertised itself as containing a grill as well; Corrin shrugs after Zasha asks, “Do you wanna try here?” They enter. The place was rather fancy, with Corrin worried that the food would be expensive; when she saw the signs showing the prices, however, the food was well within their budget. The atmosphere in the building was a calm one, with people softly talking in their tables and in the bar area. They then go quiet as a beautiful voice begins to sing a mournful song. Corrin and Zasha walk up to the person at the bar, and order a large meal for two using one and a half gold pieces in total, leaving them with just 8 silvers and 2 coppers from what was once 462 pieces. They sit down at a table, and take their time eating it, relishing in each bite of steak, letting the taste of seasoned bread and butter sit on their tongue for what felt like hours, the music providing the perfect background to their bliss, the beautiful voice singing softly, echoing through the building. They finish their meal, sitting down after, smiling wide. They continue listening to the song.

“...Just let it flow~, all of your joy and your pain will fall like the tide, let it flow~...” Corrin feels odd as the song continues. She felt the gray veins coming in, with her beginning to pant. “Life is not just filled with happiness, nor sorrow~, even the thorn in your heart, in time it may become a rose~...” She gets up quickly and runs out of the building, breathing fast, her heart pounding. The gray veins recede, and she leans on the wall of the building. Zasha comes out quickly, walking up to her.

“Are you alright?” Zasha says, worried.

“...Y-Yeah. Sorry.”

“...Let’s take some time out here. Some more air might be good, considering how we’ve locked ourselves in that inn for so long.” The two stand outside, before Corrin manages to sit down, her back against the wall. Zasha sits next to her, cross-legged. They sit quietly. Then Zasha mumbles something to herself, Corrin’s ears barely catching some of the words: “She changed… The eyes… What… them?”

“What was that?” Corrin asks. Zasha whips her head in Corrin’s direction.

“H-Huh? Oh, nothing. Just thinking to myself.” She faces forward again. “...Well,” she begins. “I was just… Your eyes. They changed.” Corrin freezes. “They looked like they were turning gray… But that’s just… I’m just imagining it. Sorry for freaking you out.” Corrin sits still for a moment, then snaps out of her shock.

“Oh… Yeah, that’s weird.” She turns to the left slowly, away from Zasha. She then looks forward, seeing a red bullfinch staring at her from a post with a sign labelling the streets. It then flies away, going in her direction then upward. A gray pigeon flew into it, the two clipping each other before regaining their balance in the air, then flying in the same direction. Corrin looks back to Zasha, then speaks. “We should look for Azura. She said she’d go make some money, but she shouldn’t have gone too far.”

“Yeah, sure.” Zasha stands with Corrin, and they decide to go left. After an hour of searching, they give up, then see Azura on her way back to the inn. They run up to her. “Hey! Azura!” Zasha shouts from a block away from her. She turns around, then stops for them. Corrin catches up first, panting.

“Where… Where did you go?” she huffs.

“Just to a restaurant. They let me…” She stops for a moment, rubbing her nose. “They let me handle the trash for some money. It was a good amount, surprisingly.” She puts her hand in her pocket, then pulls out and shows 3 silvers.

“That much for handling trash? Jeez, they must really hate getting their hands dirty,” Zasha remarks.

“Yes, that’s what they said to me too.” Azura gives a soft smile. “Regardless, it made us some money.” She puts the coins back in her pocket. “It’s gotten late… We should just return to the inn. I’ll work there again tomorrow, and then we can figure out a long term plan. Why are we here in the first place, anyways?”

“AH! AHHHHHH THAT’S RIGHT! I NEED TO HURRY AND GRAB MY-” Zasha stops herself. “...Grab my books,” she says quietly. Azura gives her an odd look, puzzled, then closes her eyes, shrugging. Zasha quickly runs to the inn. Corrin takes a moment, then walks with Azura slowly to the inn. They return to Zasha right at the front door, holding her bag of tomes. “O-Oh! Hey guys! Give me a minute, I’ll be back in a while.” She hurries away, down the street, her bag tied up on her back.

“What’s she doing?” Azura asks.

“She said that she needed to just read those books. I don’t know why she’s running off with them.” Corrin pauses, noticing something on the ground. She picks it up; it was a small piece of paper, detailing a map of the city with lines traced over it and a giant ‘x’ on one spot. “...I’m gonna follow her.”

“What?” Azura says. “Why would you do that?”

“Because if she’s walking alone at night with all of that, she could get attacked by some thieves or something. I’ll go, you can stay.”

“No, I’m coming too. We stay together.” Azura then pushes her coat back, revealing a knife strapped to her side. “You go grab your sword, I’ll wait.” Corrin nods, then heads inside then back out with her sword at her side. They run through the streets, following the map’s trail. Azura then stops. “This way,” she says, pointing down an alley.

“Why this way?”

“Trust me.” Azura runs down it, Corrin following. They end up at a dead end.

“So… This is where you wanted to go?”

“Hang on…” Azura feels the wall at the end, moving her hands along it slowly. She then stops, her hand sinking into it. The wall then opens like a gate, to a featureless hallway. “Let’s go.”

“Woah… Alright.” Corrin enters with Azura. The doors slowly close, Corrin noticing that there were handles on the back. She sighs with relief.  _ We’re not trapped. _ Turning back, she walks with Azura in the dark hall. The end of the hall shines, light hitting its glossy stones from around the corner. The light goes out when a door creaks and slams. They hurry along, and reach the door around the corner. Corrin puts her ear against the door carefully, listening in. She hears a conversation between a familiar voice and two others.

“Hey, I got them. Sorry for the delay, I was just really screwed over by the first carriage that picked me up. I’m here now, though!” the familiar voice says.

“Good job, my FELL ASSISTANT!” says a loud, dramatic voice. “Now we have the tomes we need to train up the new recruits. I shall grant the recruits the opportunity to name their tomes after they earn their spot in the Dark Division!”

“That’s great, can you keep it down?” says another voice, nasally and high-pitched. “I’m trying to read my own book, and I can’t concentrate when my… ‘friends’ are breaking it.”

“I see… One with such a powerful history is disturbed by us… I shall quiet myself.” The male voice coughs. “...A-Anyways, thank you for giving us these tomes, Zasha. Send your master our regards!”

“I… I can’t.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“...He kinda… Well, he told me to do this before… He had a premonition that the tower was going to be attacked. He told me to never come back, to stay with you guys. Is… Is that alright?”

“Of course! If the master of sorcery Anio said for you to join us, who are we to refuse?”

“Don’t you have to check in with Leo first, Odin?”

“Ah… Well, he’ll be fine with it! Another recruit is another recruit.”

“You know how the other troops think of us. They might not accept another of us.”

“Look, it’ll be fine Nyx. Trust me.”

“...Should I not risk it?”

“No, it’s fine! I’ll talk to Lord Leo, then get back to you. For now, go back to where you were. Meet here at noon tomorrow, then we can talk.”

“...Alright. I just… Don’t worry if you don’t have good news. I can handle it. I’ll just… I’ll find someplace to live after this.”

“Hey, Zasha.”

“Muh?”

“...Do you think Odin Dark, alongside the Mistress Nyx of Darkness-”

“Make it Mistress of the Night’.”

“-the Mistress Nyx of the Night, will disappoint you? ‘Failure’ isn’t in my vocabulary, and it shouldn’t be in yours either.”

“...Alright. ...Alright! Thanks, Master Odin! You too, Mistress Nyx! Ah… Nyx of the Night!” Footsteps come after this, closer to the door. Corrin freezes.

“Azura. Run. Now.”

“Huh?” The door then begins to creak. The two bolt down the hall, and get into the alley, bolting around the corners and back on the streets, going to a brisk walk as they headed back to the inn. “That was… close,” Azura sighs. “...What did you hear?”

“Huh? Oh I heard… Well, Zasha was talking to these two people. Odin and Nyx, guy and a girl. She was asking about joining them… They talked about that Leo guy we crashed into-” Azura’s face becomes serious. “...That Leo guy… You alright?”

“...Yes, go on.”

“Okay…” Corrin darts her eyes around. “The guy, Odin, said he’d ask Leo about Zasha joining them.”

“...They’re a part of the military.”

“The military? Like, the Nohrian army?”

“Yes.” Azura’s serious face doesn’t falter. “...We should join too.”

“What? W-Wait, JOIN THE ARMY?!” Corrin finds herself nearly panicking. “I’m j-just a girl from a farm! I don’t know how to-” She stops herself. “...F-Fight… I don’t know how to… I do, but…” She bites her lip.  _ What if I turn into a monster? What would happen? I could ruin the army! I can’t become a soldier. I can’t. I can’t do it. I’ll never- _

“You can do it, Corrin,” Azura says in her calming voice. She gives a warm smile to Corrin. “You can control yourself-” Corrin’s face freezes. “-and keep yourself from showing fear.” Corrin sighs with relief, closing her eyes. “Just like when you protected the town I lived in. You fought those Faceless bravely, didn’t you?” Corrin opens her eyes, looking down.

“I did, but… I don’t know if I can handle being a soldier.” She looks back up.

“I believe in you.” Azura smiles at Corrin again, Corrin turning her head to Azura’s direction. Corrin finds herself smiling as well.

“Yeah… Yeah, I can do it!” Corrin feels herself fill up with confidence.  _ I can control myself. I can get better at it! I know I can! _

_ Yes, that’s right! You can! _

“You again?” Corrin says aloud, before freezing with a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and fear on her face. “I-I-I meant, th-this… Uh… There’s a bug that’s been hanging around me! Wow, it’s gone… Thank goodness!”

_ Smooth. _

_ Shut up! What do you want? _

_ I’m here to tell you that we’re going to do this together. You and me… We’ll fight together. _

_...Are you inside of me? In my head or something? _

_...You could say that. You could also say no. Both apply. _

Corrin sighs. “...I’m gonna join, Azura. I’ve made up my mind.” She smiles, and they make it to the inn. They sit on their beds. Silence falls, and they find themselves uncomfortably looking at each other. “...So what’s military life going to be like?” Corrin says, trying to remove the discomfort.

“I don’t know… It’ll be tough, but we can make it.”

“Yeah… Yeah, we can.” Corrin smiles. Then the door opens.

“Hey guys, I’m back!” Zasha says, smiling.

“Where’s your bag?” Corrin asks, feigning ignorance.

“Oh, I… Donated it. Too many books for me alone, so I got rid of all but this one.” She pats the tome on her right side. “Well… Time for bed.”

“Yeah… Say, Zasha?” Corrin begins.

“Hmm?”

“Azura and I were thinking, and…” Corrin trails off, waiting for Azura to continue.

“Oh… Ah.” A cough from Azura. “We were thinking of joining the Nohrian army. Would you want to?”

“...Give me until tomorrow night. Then I’ll let you know.”

“Alright,” Corrin says. “Well… Good night, guys.”

“Yeah, good night,” Zasha replies.

“Good night you two,” Azura says. She stands up and walks to the candles in the room, putting them out. They all lay down and sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man... This is the longest one so far. I'm so proud of myself... I hope it's good though. This is the second to last chapter of Part 2, and I hope that you guys enjoy it. The last chapter is probably gonna be short to the regular length, and it's gonna go as expected from what you see here. No real twists and turns... Unless if I decide to make some.


	11. PART 2 END - "Welcome to the army, girls."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our sweet slice of life is finished.

The day passes, Corrin, Zasha, and Azura begrudgingly eating the last pieces of fruit that weren’t starting to go bad. Zasha leaves at noon, and while Azura and Corrin wait for Zasha to return, they begin rereading ‘The Golden Trio’ to pass the time by reading then sleeping from boredom. When they were just about to nap for the second time, the door slammed open.

“HEYGUYSGUESSWHAT!”

Azura speaks. “Wh-What? Calm down, what hap-”

“I’M IN, BABES! I’M IN THE MAGE CORPS!”

“Oh? That’s wonderful! …’Babes’?”

“THEY LET ME IN I’M SO EXCITED! I’M GONNA BE ABLE TO GO AROUND THE WORLD AND FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AND HONOR AND ALL OF THAT COOL STUFF I CAN’T WAIT FOR IT I CAN’T WAIT TO BEAT UP SOME BAD GUYS WITH MY MAAAAAAYBE YOU GUYS SHOULD JOIN TOO!” Zasha yells, shaking with excitement and panting.

“That’s great, Zasha! And we’ll definitely join with you. But where can we go to get recruited?” Corrin says, looking down to the right, thinking.

“There’s probably people looking to get new recruits in a center for orderkeepers,” Azura says.

“Alright… We should take the cart. Sebastian and Sunni probably don’t wanna keep being fed by strangers. We’ll ride together.” Corrin walks out first. Zasha follows, with Azura behind. They set up the horses with the cart, and ride through the streets. They take lefts and rights, Corrin surprised that the city is as big as it is. They continue riding, Corrin watching the road carefully to prevent another crash. After an hour of meandering through the city streets, they eventually find a large building decorated with a large Nohrian flag and smaller flag representing the city. Despite there being no sign or any other marker to explain what this building was, the entering and exiting people dressed in expensive and serious clothes alongside guards standing at each door and around the area proved that this building is important in some way. The trio stops their cart, and hops off. “Let’s check here?” Corrin says, halfway a question.

“Yes, let’s go,” Azura replies, taking the lead. Corrin and Zasha follow, walking close together. The trio enters the building. Zasha and Corrin find themselves amazed by the interior, with large paintings of different men and women hung up on the walls, all of them dressed in clothes like the people walking around inside, who were more focused on their routines than admiring the building. Corrin finds herself smiling, this being her first time seeing anything so luxurious. She then hears a voice.

“Beautiful, right?” Corrin and Zasha turn their heads to the voice. A young woman stood there, with a petite smile on her pale and round face, soft black curls down to her shoulders in a neat haircut. “I’m the humble curator of this part of this complex… the seat of Grayrock,” she says slowly, raising a hand up to show off the entire area. She walks to a column near the middle of the hall. Azura was waiting by it, oblivious to the woman who was leading Corrin and Azura along.

“This seems to be just an art hall,” Azura begins. “I think we should go-”

“‘Just an art hall’? This isn’t… ‘just an art hall’, this is my art hall. My father passed away, leaving me the sole heir of it. The city doesn’t own this, but this provides a great benefit for the city… In here, you can go to any of the parts of the seat’s complex.”

“Is there a part for the military?” Zasha asks.

“There is, but don’t you find that too… It’s too destructive and ruinous for my tastes. I can show you the way, but I ask you to reconsider any plans you have for it. War just destroys things… I’ve had to reject too many pieces due to extensive damage caused from a siege or battle of some sort.” She shakes her head slowly. “War’s no good for people… Why can’t things just be settled peacefully? You hear of all of these atrocities... the suppression of the tribes, the betrayal between the mage generals, the Golden Trio being annexed-”

“‘Annexed’? What do you mean by that?” Corrin asks. Azura and Zasha were looking to the side, silent in the presence of their friend’s ignorance.

“...They were attacked and are now ruled by Hoshido. Haven’t you heard? It happened recently, just two weeks ago.” The curator shakes her head again, closing her eyes and sighing. Opening them, she speaks again. “It’s so shameful. Izumo is known for peace and beauty… If the peace was removed, could that mean the country’s beautiful lands, cities, and people are gone too? Perish the thought…” She sighs. “Kohga’s natural beauty is renowned between us who are into the finer parts of life. If that’s gone as well, then…” She looks down, a sad look on her face. Looking back up, making another smile, she says, “Well, that doesn’t matter. They aren’t Nohr… Hoshido would never give them the scorched earth treatment like they would to us. And we’re too protected here to be attacked, to be ripped apart from this beautiful art…” She looks around the hall again. “I hope that you reconsider. Or at least, that you try your best to preserve art if you do join… Don’t destroy things that shouldn’t be. Fight if you have to, but don’t destroy for the fun of it. I watched villages be burned down when I was a child… I care about art to a great extent because of that. Life is beautiful, and that which is beautiful needs to be protected and kept safe.” She smiles again. “Well, did I change your mind?” Corrin shifts uncomfortably.

“...Not really,” Zasha says, trying to not sound negative.

“Ah… Well, then… The area for military recruitment is down this way… On the left. The second door.” She points, turning to face it.

“Thank you,” Azura says. “And I promise, we won’t ruin anything beautiful when we fight.” She smiles at the curator, who gives a warm smile and nod back. “Let us go,” Azura says, taking the lead again. They walk through the halls, great arches above their heads, columns surrounding them. The area almost gave an intimidating form, and Corrin found herself glad when they stepped out into an open-air courtyard, a section of it dedicated to people practicing fighting and, to Zasha’s surprise, magic. Corrin notices Zasha’s bubbling joy, and Zasha turns to her with a wide smile. Corrin smiles back, and stops for her. Azura stops as well, and looks at the two of them.

Zasha then puts on a serious face and says, “Follow my lead.” She raises her arms up with a nearly perfect bend at the elbows, high-fiving Corrin with both hands, pressing her arms against Corrin’s, then bumping heads with Corrin, followed by moving her arms back and holding balled fists in front of Corrin. It took Corrin a moment before she realized she had to bring her fists down on Zasha’s, with Zasha following suit and repeating the movement with Corrin on the receiving end, then they bump their fists together, and Zasha raises her arms up again and holds the dual high-five again. Then Zasha smiles wide, moving her hands away and says, “There we go! Azura, let’s do it too. Our group’s secret handshake!”

“I… I think we should do that later,” Azura says, very confused after watching the sequence. Corrin looks at her hands, confused as well. Then she smiles and shrugs, and the trio walks to a part of the complex in the far side of the courtyard. Another Nohrian flag like the one in the front of the building waves in the breeze above a wide deck, with five unique flags showing different symbols of weapons and animals. One has a ball of fire with a lightning bolt cutting it in half, labelled with ‘MAGES’, another with an axe and lance crossed and something like wyvern wings sticking out from the spaces on the side, labelled with ‘WYVERNS’. The third is decorated with a sword, axe, lance, and bow lined up, labelled ‘INFANTRY’. The final one has a symbol of a horse, with a lance cutting it in half at a neat diagonal angle, labelled ‘CAVALRY’. The trio enters. A few people clad in uniforms were sitting at counters, one of the flags hung up and neatly nailed to the wall above each of the four people. The one labelled ‘INFANTRY’ was in the center to the left, with the one labelled ‘MAGES’ on the far left, the one labelled ‘CAVALRY’ in the center right, and the one labelled ‘WYVERNS’ at the far right. They all were talking to different people who were standing in front, small lines made in front of each counter. In the lines, some people stood silently, a few bubbling with energy like Zasha, and others with a demeanor in between. A few were groups of people chatting with each other; most notably a group of three youths, two boys and a girl. Corrin took a glance at them. The boy with pink hair and a lethargic posture didn’t speak much, but gave some glaces in the direction of the girl, her dark hair down and her amber eyes wide with excitement. The red-haired boy was smiling wide, and his voice barely breaks through the din. Corrin turns away, looking around again, but hears him regardless.

“Soon, we’ll be in the army… I can see it now… Us three of the Nohrian Royal Guard, the 3rd Division of General Hans, Captain Curie, 8th Squad! That’s who we’ll be!”

“Hey can you quiet down? If we do get horses you might just end up scaring them,” the boy with pink hair says. “And that’s so specific! We might get General Xander…” He shudders. “We might get Xander and one of his captains, that Peri. You know what I hear? Most people don’t survive her training. They say she kills the ones she doesn’t like… By the Gods, give us anyone else. She’s the only terrifying one in the entire army. Camilla has her moments, but she doesn’t execute an entire squad for fun!”

“It’s alright, my friend! As long as we’re together, nothing can stop us! No dangers with the enemy or with our commanding officers can defeat our might!”

“Oh, that’s well said!” the girl says, smiling.

“Ah, well… You have me convinced now!” the boy with pink hair says, his eyes glancing to and back from the girl. He tugged on his collar when he looked at her, then looked away, whistling. Corrin finally manages to tune them out as the red-haired boy continues talking about his dreams in the army, with the pink-haired boy changing his tune to match anything the girl says.

“Hey, Corrin?” Zasha says.

“Hm?”

“Which line are you gonna go into? I’m gonna pick the mage one, obviously… It’s the shortest line too. That’s… good and bad.” Zasha’s grits her teeth, looking down, brows going down at the outside corners for a moment, then they raise, her forehead wrinkling, and she turns back, her face going to normal. “So… How about you?”

“Well…”

“How about the one for infantry? You fight well with a sword,” Azura says.

“Oh, that’s true. How about you?”

“I’ll go there too. I’m skilled with my bow, remember?” Azura makes a neat smile with the right corner of her mouth. Corrin nods.

“Let’s go, then. See you, Zasha! Hopefully this doesn’t take us through a bunch of paperwork,” Corrin says. “I can’t write that well.”

“I’ll help,” Azura says. “You’re a good reader, so you can help me with that.” She gives another smile. Corrin nods, smiling back. Zasha speaks up.

“Alright, it’s decided! See you two.” Zasha walks to the line for mages. Corrin and Azura step in the line for infantry. They wait in line, standing, hearing other people’s dialogues and idle chatter. Corrin couldn’t find anything to talk about with Azura, until something pops in her head.

“...Hey, Azura.”

“Yes?”

“Why did you freak out a bit when we saw that Leo guy? ...Did you know him or something? Does he know anything about us?” Azura freezes. “...Azura?”

“...I simply didn’t want to be seen by royalty. Leo’s a prince of Nohr, and I don’t think that someone like me deserves to be seen by such noble eyes,” Azura says.

“...You’re forcing that.” Azura looks down to the left, away from Corrin. “Azura, what’s the matter? You can tell me-”

“Not yet. ...Not here.” Azura looks forward again.

“...What do you mean by that?”

“I’ll tell you when you need to know.”

“Azura, please tell me now.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you don’t need to know anything, now.”

“...What do you mean by ‘anything’? Is there something more to this?” Azura goes silent. “...Azura.” No response. “Azura, come on!” Silence falls. Corrin gives up, sighing. “Tell me later, then. Whatever works.” Corrin buries her confusion and annoyance, focusing on the current situation again as the line moves ahead slowly, two people smiling and talking loudly about how they just got accepted under the same captain, Captain Peri. Corrin feels pity for them as they keep walking happily and ignorantly. As the line moves ahead after each recruit or group of recruits gets judged, Corrin considers talking to Azura again, then shakes her head, eyes closed.

_ She won’t say anything. _

_ Do you know why? _

_ No, but she knows a lot more than us. That much is certain. Let’s hope that knowledge is revealed as soon as possible. _

_ Yeah… _

“Yeah,” Corrin says aloud, sighing. Azura glances at her, curious, then looks away. They then reach the front of the line.

The man behind the counter, a frail and old looking man with light skin and sagging eyes covered with dirty blond hair, looks at them, a bored expression on his face. “This is a form for you to fill out,” he says, handing them a few sheets of paper. “You can go over there to take care of it,” he continues, pointing to a small opening to a hallway by the counter for mage recruits. Corrin and Azura nod, and walk into the hall. They saw a few rooms open with different groups of people all filling out their own separate sheets. Corrin looks at hers. The sheet shows itself simply, with a space at the top for writing one’s name and a space reading ‘STAMP AREA’. A sizeable block of lines was beneath a question: ‘What position do you see yourself taking in the army? Specify your preferred weapon of choice and anything regarding a mount and armor.’ Under that was another question. ‘What do you see yourself doing in the army? Specify with the situation you would prefer to be in the most.’ A final block sits at the bottom, the question above saying: ‘Do you have any close friends or family that, in the worst scenario, can handle your burial? Write their name(s) and address(es) here.’ Corrin bites her lip after reading it, regretful.

“...This room is empty,” Azura says, holding Corrin’s arm gently and bringing her inside. Corrin heard the red-haired boy’s voice through the hall, and ignores it. The two sit down. “Here’s a pencil,” Azura says, handing the tool to Corrin. Azura begins to fill out her form, bending over the table and moving her pencil quickly. Corrin takes a look at her, then looks at her own sheet. She began to fill out each one, mouthing off the words.

‘What position do you see yourself taking in the army?’

_ I want to fight on the front lines. _

‘Specify your preferred weapon of choice and anything regarding a mount and armor.’

_ A sword, no mount or heavy armor. _

‘What do you see yourself doing in the army?’

_ Fighting on the front lines. _ Corrin finds herself a bit annoyed by the redundant writing.

‘Specify with the situation you would prefer to be in the most.’

_ Ready to take on the enemy’s first hit to keep others safe and able to fight. _

‘Do you have any close friends or family that, in the worst scenario, can handle your burial? Write their name(s) and address(es) here.’ Corrin’s hand freezes.

“...Azura.”

“Hm?”

“...Do you have a house?”

“...No.”

“...Just wondering.” Corrin turns back to the paper, and makes a large ‘X’ in the block of lines. She gets up.

“You’re done?” Azura asks.

“Yeah, are you?”

“Yes.” Azura stands.

They walk back, and wait in line again. They hand their sheets in, then the man says, “Thank you. You may wait outside; if you’re accepted, you will be invited back in. Otherwise, you’re escorted out.” He waves them off. The two walk out, and see Zasha, who is sitting on one of the ledges, whistling. Her feet were hanging off of the ledge, with her moving them back and forth. Corrin and Azura sit next to her, Corrin crossing her legs, and Azura letting her feet hang off the ledge as well. Zasha turns to her left, looking at Corrin, then she smiles, and looks at Azura.

“So you guys signed up too?”

“Yes,” Azura replies.

“...Ugh,” Zasha says.

“What’s the matter?” Corrin says, raising her right brow.

“...What if we don’t get accepted?”

“Oh, we will!”

“...Well, what if I don’t.” Zasha looks up, watching a gray cloud pass by.

“What do you mean?” Azura asks.

“You guys will get accepted for sure. I can feel it. But…” Zasha looks down to her feet. “...I dunno. I feel bad about it. Like I won’t be accepted.”   
“Oh come on, don’t say that! We’ll all be accepted. Then we can go on together, our own little trio.” Corrin smiles at Zasha. Zasha moves her head back up, looking at Corrin. Her flat face perked up a bit.

“I guess I can have some hope.”

 

**\- - -**

 

“...Do you think they forgot about us? Eighteen.” Zasha’s voice was flat and stretched out, her counting off the number of birds that fly by.

“No, I think they’re coming,” Corrin replies. “Nineteen.”

“We just need to be patient,” Azura continues. “Twenty.”

“Twenty-one. Alright, we’ll wait more,” Zasha finishes.

“Twenty-two.”

“twenty-three.”

“Twenty-four.”

“Twenty-five.”

“Twenty-six.”

“Twenty-seven.”

“Twenty-eight.”

“Twenty-nine.”

“Forty. Wait, I mean thirty-”

“Thirty-one.”

“Thirty-two.”

“Thirty-tree. I mean dirty-three- GAH! I mean-”

“I’m looking for a Corrin, Azura, and Zasha. Step forward.” Zasha jumps up when she hears her name, turning to a younger man with light skin and a dusting of brown hair on his chin. She walks forward, Corrin and Azura getting up and following. The man looks at the three of them with lazy eyes, and then he waves them over into a small building across the courtyard. Zasha looks to the left, with wide, happy eyes at the mage recruits and teachers. Corrin prods her along as she stops walking, and Zasha snaps out of her excited daze. She goes red for a moment, embarrassed, then continues walking with the group. Making it to the small building, they sign off on another few sheets by a thin woman with dark skin and old green eyes behind a counter. She sighs as she takes the sheets back.

“Welcome to the army, girls.”

“...That’s it?” Corrin asks.

“Welcome to bureaucracy, kid. All you get is sheets and sheets and sheets… At least I don’t have to risk my neck. Thank you guys for doing that.” She sighs again, her forehead wrinkling. “Due to your arrival and the positions you want to take…” She looks over some of the sheets, her mouth moving as she reads silently. “...You’re in the force under Lord Leo. Under Captain Niles’ regiment and banner, to be exact. You in specific,” she begins, pointing to Corrin. “Will work under Major Oddmund. Same with you, Goldeneye.” She looks at Azura, who has a slightly offended face for a moment, then goes back to a neutral one after a long blink and soft sigh. “But you’ll be working under Major Alvi,” she says, looking at Zasha. “You’re in luck, she’s another lady mage. I hear that she likes to help the recruits personally too.” Zasha smiles wide, her eyes lighting up. Then she blinks and puts on a serious face, her eyes still shining. “Well, that’s it. You all can head to that side of the courtyard. That final entrance is to the barracks, mess hall, et cetera, where everyone works at and meets. You’ll obviously go through an initial procedure for your acceptance, but beyond that, you’re ready to go.” She sighs again, and goes back to the paperwork. The man stands there, and watches the trio leave the building. They walk through the courtyard again.

“That was kinda weird,” Zasha says. “No entrance exam?”   
“I know. You’d think they’d have one, being the military and everything,” Corrin replies.

“They need soldiers.”

“Hm?” Corrin says, looking at Azura.

“The army is short on troops. They need every bod-... man they can get.” Corrin and Zasha caught what she was trying to say initially, and they look at each other for a moment, worried looks on their faces. They then turn away, Zasha to the right and Corrin to the left, Zasha scratching the back of her neck.

They reach the end of the courtyard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Part 2 draws to a close. Our trio rides together into the unknown world of the military. Will we meet new faces? Old ones? Or will we lose some?  
> Well, we'll see what happens next.  
> Also, I love how originally I planned for this to be a short one. Well, life doesn't go as planned, eh?


	12. Part 3 - Chapter 1 - "Too much."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training for the next stage.

“Oh come on, I was sure I had it this time!”

“Shut up recruit, keep trying! ...I always wanted to say something really tough like that… But I feel kinda bad for it.” The blond mage scratches the right side of his neck, looking down with a small wince. “...Uh… You uh… Keep going, recruit! You have the power within you! I believe in you! Believe in me, the Odin Dark who believes in you!” Zasha groans, panting. She takes a minute to breathe, her head pointed down as she wipes sweat off her brow with her left hand.

“Okay… Last try, please. I’m exhausted can this be my last try, Mr.- I mean, Captain Odin? Please?”

“Hmmm… I’d say yes, but Niles would hound me for it. You gotta keep going until you hit the target!”

“It’s so FA~R…” Zasha groans. She takes a deep breath, then raises her hands up over her head, the tome in front of her rising up with her. Her eyes were glowing fiercely, and she made an two-handed overhead throw, a fireball flying straight ahead, towards a target. She smiles, then it fizzles out right before hitting it. Zasha groans again, and sits down. “This. Sucks.”

“C’mon, get up. None of the other recruits are slacking like you! You didn’t put all of your effort into this just to give up, did you?” Odin stares angrily at Zasha.

“I… You’re right,” Zasha groans, standing. She opens the tome again, readying a simpler motion for her spell.

 

**\- - -**

 

An arrow pierces through the bullseye. “Perfect shot. Remember, you need to make fifteen. I’ll be watching.” Niles makes one of his sinister, mischievous smiles; Azura looks at him with distaste. He stares directly at her, making a soft chuckle, before sighing and going back to a neutral face. She rolls her eyes, then prepares another shot. She, alongside the other recruits, fire arrow after arrow into their targets, praying for more bullseyes so they can finally rest. The few who succeeded in completing the challenge were panting, sitting in the shade and chugging water from a large set of barrels. Azura gulps, her throat painfully dry. She readies another arrow.

 

**\- - -**

 

“Keep going! Don’t rest until you can tear that dummy apart in just a swing!” Captain Sorley stares at the recruits fiercely, arms crossed. His eyes scan the crowd, stopping at some of them who were either too weak or impressively strong. He walks up to one of the weaker ones. “YOU!” he bellows, staring down at the recruit. “What’s your name?!”

“C-Corrin, sir.”

“What the hell is wrong with your swing? Why aren’t you putting any power into it?!”

“I-I’m doing my best!”

“No, you’re not! I know what holding back looks like! Stop holding back; if you’re too scared to take down a dummy you might as well leave this camp right now!” Corrin freezes up for a moment. She found herself beginning to pant more, gray veins creeping over, a burning thought of anger bubbling up inside of her. She then closes her eyes for a moment, and breathes out.

“...I’m sorry, I’ll swing harder.”

“Good. We can’t have some weak-willed fighter on our side.” Sorley walks away, back straight up. Corrin looks down for a moment.

_ I… Why did I get angry like that…? _ She shakes her head, then goes back to swinging, putting a bit more energy into it.  _ Not all of it… I’m not gonna risk it. Not in the middle of this camp. _ She keeps swinging, before eventually she manages to break the dummy apart at the shaft holding it up. She sighs with relief.

“Good work, Corrin,” Sorley shouts over the din. She turns to the right, and sees him nodding at her. She steps out of the crowd, and makes it to the other recruits who were resting up, drinking water and laying back in the shade of the building. She sits back, and one of the other recruits hands her a canteen filled with water. He was a rather strapping youth, warm-brown hair down to his nose and a softly dark tone in his skin, a warm smile on his face.

“Here you go, miss.”

“‘Miss’... That’s kinda funny, I’m not a…” Corrin takes a swig, holding the canteen high with her left hand as she guzzles the water down. “I’m not all fancy or anything.”

“I prefer to be respectful.” He sits next to her. “If it’s not invasive, might I ask your name?”

“I… I’m Corrin.”

“That sounds good… Short, you don’t need to move your mouth much.” The boy looks in front of himself, sighing, a smile on his lips. Corrin finds herself uncomfortable with his comment. “I am… Well… You can call me Shea.” Corrin looks at him with careful eyes. “My parents gave me the name- o-oh, obviously. It means ‘hawk-like’... I have been complimented on my good eyes before. I guess my parents picked well.”

“That’s… That’s interesting.” Corrin faces forward again.

“...I hear that we’re going to combat very early.”

“Huh?”

“Within a few days. That is why they are pushing us so hard.”

“‘A few days’? Don’t we need more time to be trained?”

“The army is in dire need of soldiers. Hoshido has a horde of fighters filled with conscripted citizens and members of the Tribes.”

“What ‘tribes’? O-Oh, you mean… The Wind, Ice, and Fire Tribes?”

“Yes.” He looks down, sighing. “Especially m-” He freezes. Corrin stares at him cautiously. He glances at her, then takes a deep swig of his own canteen. “...Especially the Wind Tribe. Not that I need to care, because they are the enemy, but… Well, it is sad how these people lost their homes, riches, even families, and now they are forced to fight for the people who ruined them.”

“...I guess so, yeah.”

“You… ‘Guess’? N-Not that I’m judging, it is just… Does it not it strike a chord for you, too?” He looks at her with a worried face.

“Well… Yeah, it does. But I can’t feel bad over who I need to… Kill.” He widens his eyes, then looks down.

“I see… That is sensible. I should just stop talking about this… What is the point of sympathizing with them? They are still the enemy.” He drinks more of his water. “So… Uh…”

“Sorry, but… Why are you talking to me?”

“O-Oh. Should I stop?”

“No! I don’t mean that in a rude way, sorry! I just meant… What made you want to give me that water and talk to me?”

“I just wanted to be polite. And… I recognize something in those eyes. Your eyes are like mine… Someone who has lost their home because of all this. Lost family… Friends… I know how you feel.” He shows her understanding eyes, a soft look of sadness on his face.

“...You… You really don’t.”

“Why not? I have lost friends too. I have… I saw my family crying as I escaped.”

“You still haven’t seen what I’ve seen.” Corrin winces, clenching her teeth.  _ Felicia… Dammit, stop thinking about her! She… She doesn’t matter anymore.  _ Corrin’s mind races regardless of her attempts to stop it, and she closes her eyes tight as she tries to suppress the thoughts rolling through her mind, blood everywhere around and on her, a friend crying and screaming, terrified of her.

“What have you seen?” Shea’s words snap Corrin out of her frozen state of panic. “What has made you… Like this? What happened to you?”

“...Too much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Part 3 begins! This part focuses on the beginnings of the trio's contact with war.


	13. PART 3 - Chapter 2 - “I hope you’re all ready.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter focuses on their training in the military.

Thunder tears the sky open. Lightning flashes through the clouds. Rubble drops on the ground. A mangled body sits in front of her eyes. Gray fills the world. Then it falls apart, the sound of stone being smashed apart underneath, and the world is clear again, a dark room suddenly filling with the light of a candle. She blinks a few times, dazed.

“Hey, rook, you alright there?” a girl with silver-hair says, looking down at Corrin. “Somehow your bunk broke! That thing’s over stone… Is this place falling apart or something?”

“N-No… I’m fine.” Corrin sits up, rubbing the back of her skull. Despite what she felt before, she had no noticeable bruise surfacing, and her soreness was already gone. She looks around, seeing all eyes on her, whether they be green, gray, or amber. Some were sitting in their own bunks, curious and surprised. Others were standing around, having gotten up. Corrin stands, feeling nervous in the spotlight.

“You need a bed, obviously. Anyone willing to share?” the silver-haired girl says, turning to the crowd. Silence for a long moment, then a voice speaks from down the western side of the room, to Corrin’s left.

“I’ll share it!” that voice says, familiar in tone and pitch. Corrin finds herself at ease, walking into the wide space between the beds. She sees a familiar form, clad in the white underclothes that are issued to the soldiers. It wasn’t a thin one, but rather a somewhat broad girl with dark-skin, covered in the shade outside of the candle’s glow. Corrin brushes off the dust on her as she walks down that way, seeing the smile of Zasha, who moves to the edge of the bed to let Corrin lay down. Corrin sighs with relief as she lays down again, exhaustion grabbing her again. She finds her face pushing against Zasha’s back as her head drops.

 

**\- - -**

 

The sound of a deep tubular bell ringing fills the room. “WAKE UP, LADIES, RISE AND SHINE! HEAD DOWN TO THE MESS HALL! IF YOU’RE LATE, THEN YOU DON’T GET BREAKFAST! IF YOU’RE NOT IN FULL UNIFORM, THEN YOU DON’T GET BREAKFAST! IF YOU DON’T FIX YOUR BUNK, THEN NONE OF YOU GET BREAKFAST! SO HURRY THE HELL UP!” The room fills with the sound of the female cadets hurrying to get out of bed, then dressed, then quickly but carefully folding the sheets on their bunks. Some of the faster ones were already hurrying out, their boots clacking against the floor.

Zasha opens her eyes slowly, nearly falling back asleep in the warm vice around her. Corrin brings her head up, feeling it against something warm, her arms wrapped around something feeling like warm cloth. “Fuh…” she mumbles as she begins to blink. Corrin then opens her eyes fully, bringing her hand up to rub her left eye. She then realizes that her right arm was wrapped around Zasha’s gut, her head just lifting up after being pressed against her neck, and Zasha opens her eyes wide as she realizes the same. They quickly separate, Corrin going red. Zasha thanks the gods silently for her dark skin hiding her flushed cheeks. Their eyes meet for a moment, prompting Corrin to dart her gaze to the left, bashful, and Zasha covers her face, looking the other way. After an uncomfortable pause, they look at each other again, Zasha making a nervous laugh.

“L-Let’s… L-Let’s get ready. I’ll take care of the bunk.”

“Y-Yeah, I’ll get my uniform.” Corrin runs through the room, dodging past the cadets sprinting with groaning stomachs as she eventually reaches her bag. She moves her hands past the books inside, grabbing the uniform underneath them all. She looks around nervously before taking off her nightclothes, sighing with relief as the rest of the cadets weren’t looking at her, all focused on getting on their own uniform or fixing their bunk. She then raises the uniform up in front of her. Taking the moment to scan it for any dirt, she stretches the wrinkles of the burgundy vest before throwing it on hastily, and pulls her leather gloves on tight. Looking at the leather shorts, she flattens the wrinkles in them and then pulls them on, regretful at how tight they felt. Finally pulling up her boots, she makes her way back to Zasha. Zasha had thrown on the simple covering for mages, a black uniform with a gold trim, her head through the hole in the center, the rest of the uniform a cape behind her, the rest of her body exposed. She, like the rest of the mages, constantly wears her typical attire underneath. Corrin reaches Zasha as she has her back turned, putting her circlet on carefully before getting up from her squat. She turns around to see Corrin, and gives a thumbs up with both hands before joining Corrin in leaving the room hastily, passing by some of the slower cadets. They finally reach the mess hall, and take the common gruel being served in wooden bowls with them to a long table, other cadets filling the rest of the seats. The only free space was on one side of it, and it was barely enough for the both of them. Again, to their embarrassment, they had to press against each other as they eat, with Zasha on the left.

“...S-So, uh… Good morning, Corrin.”

“...Yeah, good morning.” Corrin finds herself slowly going red again. “...L-Let’s uh, keep that little accident to ourselves, right?”

“Y-Yeah, we should. Do that.” They eat in an awkward silence, noticeable even in the loud din of the mess hall. Pressed up against Zasha again, Corrin notices how she was a bit shorter than the mage. She feels a bit deflated by it, then a bit of pride at how she was the one holding onto Zasha rather than being cradled. Then she goes a bit red, and pushes the thought out of her mind.

“Good morning, you two.” Azura’s voice made Corrin flinch; her and Zasha turn around slowly to look at the blue-haired archer. She gave them her usual look, a neutral face, and then walks near them. Her uniform was a dark navy one, a cape falling behind her back and black clothes covering her body. “Are you two ready for today? I hear we’re doing team exercises.”

“We are? Maybe we’ll be lucky and be on the same team!” Zasha says, looking at Azura then Corrin.

“Yeah, maybe. We’ll see, though.” Corrin goes back to trying to eat, and Zasha does so too. Azura sits down next to their right, her back to the table. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. A soft hum comes from her throat. Corrin finds herself freezing, barely recognizing the tune, recognizing the feeling. She sees the gray veins creeping in, and she stands up, clutching her chest, barely bending forward.

“Corrin?” Zasha says, her worried voice faraway in Corrin’s mind. Corrin’s heartbeat makes heavy thuds inside of her, the gray veins barely held back. Then she finds them creeping out of her vision again, with her snapping out of her frozen state when a hand lands on her right shoulder.

“Are you alright?” Azura asks, looking at her. She had her left hand up to her nose, brushing it. “You looked like you were about to faint.”

“I… I’m fine.” Corrin looks at Azura with a mix of suspicion and relief.  _ She… She was humming that song… It… It must just be a popular one. I… I’m overthinking this.  _ “Sorry for worrying you. I just felt sick… I’m not used to the food yet.”

“I wouldn’t’ve pegged you for having a weak stomach,” Zasha says. Corrin makes a quick glare. Zasha makes a nervous giggle. “B-But it’s fine!” Corrin sighs. Then a loud tubular bell rings again. “FINISH EATING! IF YOU’RE NOT OUT IN THE COURTYARD WITHIN FIVE MINUTES, YOU WON’T EAT DINNER!” Everyone in the mess hall picks up speed, with the trio silently thanking themselves and the gods for finishing their meals. They walk outside. The different captains had their groups of soldiers lined up. Corrin, Zasha, and Azura go to where Niles’ force stands, everyone in there just resting in the shade while the rest of the people in the mess hall exit. The trio sits down together. After all of the soldiers assembled, Niles personally spoke.

“So, I hope you all are ready for today,” he begins, a smile growing on his lips. People grow uncomfortable as he paces back and forth, scanning the whole group. “Today, it’s time for you all to start building some real bonds with each other.” Still smiling he closes his eye. “You’ll continue to shower in shifts. But now the curtains giving you all privacy will be gone. Real friends can see each other naked without worry.” He opens his eye, making a slight chuckle at the thick discomfort in the air. “Along with that, today we’re going to form squads. I worked with some of the more notable of you to decide the organization. So come up and look at these,” he finishes, showing a few sheets of paper with small text written on them. He puts them down on the ground, and watches some of the people move ahead. The trio follows the crowd. Reading the papers, Corrin sighs with a mix of relief and worry. Zasha and Shea were in her group, alongside a ‘Thomas’ and ‘Heim’.

_ Familiar faces but… _ She shakes her head.  _ It’ll be fine. What happened in the mess hall was… Nothing. It was nothing. But something about that song… Maybe I’ll ask Az _ -

“Corrin?” Zasha’s voice makes Corrin flinch. “You alright in there?” she asks, tapping her right temple twice.

“Oh. Yeah, I’m good.”  _...I’m probably not.  _ She shakes her head again, then waits with Zasha for the rest of the squad to come to them. An older man with gray eyes and a thick beard of black around his chin walks to them alongside a boy with wide green eyes and a cleft upper lip. The younger one stares intensely at Corrin. The older man had the uniform for archers like Azura did, with the youth having the same uniform as Corrin.

“So, I’m going to assume you two are Corrin and Zasha?” the older man says.

“Yeah, I’m Zasha,” the dark mage replies. “And this is Corrin!” She points at the sword fighter next to her. Corrin nods.

“I’m Thomas, and this kid’s Heim. He doesn’t talk much.” Heim nods affirmatively. “So, we need to wait for Shea.” Corrin nods.

“I know how he looks, I’ll recognize him.” A few moments pass, then the familiar boy with brown hair appears. Corrin notices his eyes, a soft brown, moving around the area before stopping and seeing her. He smiles. “Shea, you’re here!” Corrin says, forcing the energy in her voice.

“It’s good to see you. I’m going to assume the rest of you are Zasha, Heim, and Thomas?”

“Yes, that’s us,” Thomas says. “The kid here is Heim, Zasha’s the mage, and I’m Thomas.” The older man smiles at Shea. “Well, now that we have our group, we just need to wait for-”

“Good job, everyone. You found your groups quickly, that’s a nice thing to see. Let’s hope that speed stays with you as you go through these next few exercises,” Niles booms, his voice silencing the din of the recruits. He smiles, making a short and terrifying giggle. “I hope you’re all ready.” The air freezes, so silent a pin would break it.

 

**\- - -**

 

“A competitive scavenger hunt.”

“Yep,” says the older man.

“Tug-of-war.”

“Indeed,” sighs the boy with a wooden sword at his side.

“Relay races.”

“Yeah,” the girl says.

“And a game of football.”

The mute boy nods.

Zasha groans, then punches the wall of the building’s stone exterior, before making a gross whine from the pain. “WHY THIS?!”

“I don’t think we can really question how the army works,” Thomas says.

“I think we can when it’s stuff that I played as a kid when I was being getting trained f-” She stops, then gets a face of relief. “For magic.”

“We still have the primary military training daily, we just have these team-building exercises at the end of each day. It’s not that bad,” Shea says.

“Still, it’s so… Juh-venile!”

“Juvenile,” Corrin says, correcting Zasha.

“Same thing!”

“Isn’t dinner ready?” Shea says, changing the subject.

“Huh? Oh man it is… I’m starving, yeah let’s go!” Zasha says, rushing away. They all sigh.

“She’s a real handful,” Thomas says. “If I had a kid like that I’d be growing gray hairs a decade ago.” He scratches the back of his neck with his right hand. “We all should go, though. I’m hungry too.” The rest of the group follows, Heim close behind. They walk into the building, and see people already lined up, getting food. Zasha was in the back of it. An uneventful dinner passes by, the group eating together. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need a good shower,” Thomas says.

“Me as well,” Shea says. Heim waits, looking uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong, Heim?” Corrin asks. Silence in response, but he tugs at his clothes, showing his shoulder, then motioning around the area. “...Oh. Oh gods.”

“What?” Zasha asks.

Corrin goes white. “There’s no curtains for privacy anymore.” Heim nods.

“So? It’s all girls, we shouldn’t have any problems!”

“Y-Yeah, but… Isn’t it embarrassing for you, too?”

“Why would it be?” Zasha’s brows then drop at the center. “Are you implying something?! Trying to beat me down, or something?!”

“N-No! I mean… Seeing other people… N-Naked.” Corrin winces, remembering when she nearly walked in on Gunter bathing. “Th-That’s what’s making me worried.”

“It’s fine! We’re all girls, we know how our bodies are. No one’s gonna be staring.”

“...Alright,” Corrin replies, still nervous. Zasha and Heim get up, Heim leaving, Corrin still glued to her seat.

“...Come on, kid, we gotta get washed up,” Zasha says, pulling Corrin up with a surprising amount of force. She leads the shaking sword fighter to the showers, and stops at the entry. “...Do you need my help undressing you?”

“N-NO! I AM ALRIGHT! I c-can do it…” Corrin stutters. Zasha shrugs.

“Whatever,” she says, letting her uniform and outfit slip off. Corrin looks away, going red. She tries to undress after Zasha leaves, but more women and girls shamelessly go into the showers themselves.

_ I can’t get a break. _

_ You need to shower. _

_ Shut up. _


	14. PART 3 END - “I guess I can’t hide it anymore.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final days bring a step forward.

A few months pass by, the training becoming more intense, squadmates shifting out. Thomas and Heim were eventually replaced by a Sarah and Drake, who were trained the same way as the formers. Sarah was a girl from a noble house, and Drake was a deeply religious boy, often reciting prayers to the gods and dragons above. As if his prayers worked, Drake soon shined as the leader of the squad, and was promoted to sergeant, before being promoted again to sergeant-major, being in charge of 4 squads, his as an elite one. Occasionally Corrin would sometimes feel the urge to shift, but as it came again and again suppressing it became easier and easier, to the point that she can hold even her typical anger back in seconds. After the fourth month, big news arrives.

“Men, women, outside and in between,” Niles begins, “We finally received our orders. We’re to head down to Fenmarsh.” Corrin winces at the familiar name. “It’s become a battlefield. General Hans needs to pull out, so Leo is sending us, Odin, and Sorley to fight there. Great news,” he finishes, obvious sarcasm in his voice, his teeth grit as he spoke. Corrin, taking a risk, decides to speak to him as he leaves.

“Uh, Captain Niles?” she begins.

“Just who are you?” He begins, turning around to face her. Despite the four months under his banner, Corrin still finds herself intimidated.

“C-Corrin, sir, One of your SFs,” Corrin starts, reciting the proper introduction a soldier must say to their leader, listing off her position as a ‘sword fighter’. “Could I have permission t-”

“Skip the formalities. What are you trying to say?”

“...What’s wrong with our assignment?” Niles closes his eye, speaking in an angry tone. Corrin hides a fearful look, worried that she stepped into dangerous territory. He then sighs, opening it.

“We were given this news just last night, and we’re told to move out in two days. So I’m very upset. So unless if you have something important to ask and or say, I want you to get the hell out of my sight.” Corrin steps back, then gulps.

“Well, why are we the ones moving out?”

“Oh, I know! Oh wait. I DON’T KNOW! I don’t know, AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU DIDN’T TRY TO STICK YOUR NOSE IN MATTERS THAT DON’T CONCERN YOU.” Corrin tries to keep her hands from rising up in defense. “...Ugh.” Niles grunts, sighing and shaking his head, holding his right hand on his forehead. “Sorry for the outburst. But it would be better if you didn’t try to learn more about things I don’t even know about.” He turns around, and walks away.

_ Really nice move there. _

_ Can you just be quiet? You’ve barely spoken since that shower incident. I’m trying to focus on important things, and you haven’t talked about anything important. _

_ Well, I wanted to wait until the right moment. Tonight you have time to clear up something you need to. You need to actually read what you have. _

_ ‘What I have’? _

_ Gunter’s journal. And you need to confront Azura about that song. _

_ Why? _

_ It nearly made you change into your dragon form. I’m pretty sure it’s something to worry about. _

_ I… I guess I should talk to her about it.  _ Corrin takes a deep breath.  _ This better not screw me over. _

_ One way or another, you’ll get an answer. _

_ I guess. _ Corrin goes through the day, then finds Azura in the mess hall, splitting from her squad, Zasha and Shea giving her odd looks. “Hey, Azura, can I ask you something? It’s kinda private.”

“Oh… Give me a moment. We’ll meet down that hall.” The blue-haired archer points to the left corner. Corrin sighs, nodding. She walks that way. A few minutes later, Azura stands with her. “Let’s go further down.” She leads Corrin next to the showers.

“A-Azura?”

“We need privacy,” the archer says, her face serious, brows down. She looks down each end of the hall, then moves close to Corrin, speaking in a quiet voice. “What is it?”

“...About that song you hum…” Azura narrows her eyes. “...What is it? It… It makes me feel… Weird.”

“...I guess I can’t hide it anymore,” Azura says. “That song makes you begin to transform, correct?” Corrin freezes.

“H-How do you-?”

“But you haven’t transformed into that form at all in here, correct?”

“Y-Yeah…?” Corrin bites her bottom lip. “B-But how do you know about that?”

“...You really can’t tell?” She shakes her head. “Didn’t you read all of those books? About us?”

“...W-Wait… So you’re-? So I’m-! ...I-I need a minute…”

“...This is… Surprising.”

“What is?”

“I expected… I suppose I got the smarts,” Azura says sighing and closing her eyes.

“E-Excuse me?! Rude!” Corrin grits her teeth. “So you’re saying…”

“Yes. We were born by the late Mikoto. The man called Gunter saved you before news of your visual similarities with the king Garon spread to Sumeragi. I was saved by a man known as Yukimura. Raised by him, he eventually told me of my lineage. I, like you, am the blend of the two dragons that the royals carry in their blood. Mikoto was the last one with the pure blood, and now Sumeragi’s children, Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura carry her blood. Garon’s children, Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise carry his blood. Dawn and Dusk. Like I said, we have both. That grants us some unique abilities.”

“So you can transform too?”

“No, that is a power I wasn’t given. But I have this kind of… Voice. And foresight. It isn’t specific, but I can tell when something is going to happen. For example, I went into that village because I knew you would be coming. But I didn’t know when, so I was there for three years. And I didn’t know Zasha would be coming too. I just knew where we had to go, and what we have to do. And this battle is the next step. Here we’ll meet… Someone. That’s all I know. Someone who has a great impact on our… Your journey.”

“Why do you say it’s just mine?”

“...I’m not sure. But it’s the only way I can perceive it. That’s the way that the… ‘Sight’ shows it.”

“Alright… But what about that song? Does that have to do with your ‘Voice’?”

“Yes. It’s something that I was taught by Yukimura. He said to sing it to find you, to begin your journey, to test your strength. And you’ve proven it.”

“Wait… So you were in that restaurant?”

“Yes. I lied about it. That’s… Another piece that I felt a bit… Well, I really did inherit our parents’ smarts.” Azura makes a small smirk.

“Yeah, yeah, jerk.” Corrin rolls her eyes. “So, we have these powers. Why are we so important?”

“...The way Mikoto died… It was because of us.”

“...We gave her a heart attack or something?”

“No… Something wanted us to not be. It tried to kill her, but it was too late. So it relied on us being executed. Children being killed out of a tyrant’s anger. It didn’t want us alive. But then we were saved by Gunter and Yukimura. So that triggered the war. And… It still wants us. We’re going to see it more and more. That’s why people have attacked you. Your home destroyed,” Corrin winces. “The assault on the city,” Corrin shuts her eyes. “The attack in the villa,” Corrin grits her teeth, turning away.

“Pl-Please. Stop.”

“...I’m sorry, but you need to know this.”

“I… I guess.” Corrin opens her eyes. “...So, it’s been trying to kill me?”

“Similar things happened to me. I was forced out of my home with Yukimura, and had to take residence in Kohga. Kohga was then taken over by Mokushu which joined with Hoshido-”

“Wait, didn’t they have a treaty?! They’re called the ‘Golden Trio’, for the gods’ sakes!”

“Mokushu is led by a man known as Kotaro. He’s ambitious and greedy, a perfect man to be recruited by Sumeragi. He just had to support Hoshido so he would rule the other two nations of the Trio. And now that’s how things are currently. Kohga was taken over… I made it to that village… And we know the rest of it.”

“...So that’s… Huh.” Corrin takes a moment. “That’s what’s happened so far. I wonder what everyone else is here for… If you don’t see them, then doesn’t that mean they’re… Unnecessary?”

“Not exactly,” Azura says. “I know what we’ll experience. We’d join the army, but I didn’t know it would be Niles’ force. He’s important in that aspect. So we need to wait on everyone else who will come. But… Well, Shea and Zasha could be unimportant. They haven’t affected us all that much-” A fast series of footsteps down the hall make them flinch. Corrin looks down to where they came from, but sees nothing, only the light of the mess hall.

“...We should probably stop right here,” Corrin says. Azura nods. They return to the mess hall.

 

**\- - -**

 

The next day comes. During the months that passed by, Zasha and Corrin became resigned to their initial day’s beginning, and would stay close for warmth as the snow began to fall. Corrin wakes up, head against Zasha’s back and arms around the dark mage’s gut as usual. They split apart, Corrin changing by Zasha’s bed, comfortable with her partial nudity (the showers are a different story). They leave for the mess hall together, and eat with their squad. The usual bell rings, bringing them all lined up neatly in front of their captains. The sergeant-majors step forward, bringing their squads into order. They all follow their captains out of the campus, walking through the halls of the city government’s complex. Corrin forgot about how there was a whole city surrounding their giant camp, and she sighs as the force continues. They stop outside of the government’s building, seeing General Leo, a neutral look on his face as the captains step forward. He speaks with them calmly, then shakes his head. Then he turns to the force and yells, his voice reaching even the soldiers in the back.

“Those of you under Captains Niles, Odin, and Sorley are to head to the southern roads,” he says, pointing. “Those of you under my banner and the Captains Jason, Savanna, and Sia are to go to the northern roads with me. We all know our objectives. Move out.” They all go into the transportation arranged for them, large carriages with what looks like infinite horses holding them, and ride off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Part 3 is done. This is a surprisingly short part, mainly because I didn't expect to turn what was a single bullet point in my outline to an entire part. 3 chapters are good enough, as any more would be forcing it, or changing the subject too much.


	15. Part 3 and 4 Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A recap of what's happened so far, and more of the story at the end of it. Don't skip this!

Corrin begins her journey at home with Gunter, her adoptive father. She lives in the middle of nowhere, in a small home where she is sustained by hunting and farming. After waking up to the sound of battle, she’s forced out of her home by Gunter, who tells her she needs to leave, giving her a sword and their horse, Sebastian. She manages to take his journal before leaving.

After leaving her home, she arrives at a city known as Fenmarsh. In here, she meets two sisters of a noble house, Felicia and Flora. Showing generosity, Felicia gives Corrin shelter and company. Corrin has a brutal nightmare, Flora noting that she had a cut on her forehead. After this night, the girls spend a week in the city, enjoying their time there.

Then the war comes to them there, with Corrin transforming into some kind of creature, saving the people escaping the city from being crushed by a boulder lobbed by a siege weapon of some kind. The girls escape to a manor the sisters’ family owns.

After spending time in a vegetative state, Corrin has visions of people speaking to her, telling her to come into the ‘light’. She might have seen them just once, but the moment was too fast for her to know for certain. During her vegetative state, the sisters got into an argument, ending with Felicia convincing Flora to trust Corrin again, even if it’s only for a moment.

Corrin wakes up, and spends time resting with the girls, reading books, such as one featuring a noble lady known as Eliza being saved by a Coral, Keala, and Kadir, and a story about a queen killing her own knight and summoning a demon to gain ultimate power. Another few were one about twins who were abducted, and a written account of the assassination of the Nohrian generals by Hoshido, the first step of the war a decade ago.

The girls await Felicia and Flora’s father to come, but before then, tragedy strikes.

Men in odd uniforms attack the manor, and nearly kill Felicia and Flora. Corrin transforms into her feral form again, and kills anyone in the area, leaving a few of the maids and butlers of the house alive. In her berserk state, she had brutally hit Felicia, tearing her left arm off. In self-hate, Corrin exiles herself, going deep into the forest, where another voice speaks to her directly, telling her that this is the beginning of her ‘fate’. After washing herself off, she decides to listen to this voice. Sebastian finds her, having taken her bag from where she left it behind in her berserk state, and they ride off, heading to Grayrock.

 

**\- - -**

 

Corrin travels on the road alone, and she meets a wanderer, a girl by the name of Zasha. Zasha was robbed of her supplies beyond an odd and large bag filled with books, the cart she was riding with leaving her behind as she stepped out to answer nature’s call. Corrin, despite fear and anxiety, brings her along, learning who Zasha is and what her goal is: she’s a dark mage wanting to get to the city of Grayrock, Corrin’s destination as well, to deliver the tomes she carries to an unknown recipient.

Corrin promises to keep Zasha’s status as a dark mage a secret as they go down their journey, after learning of the source of Zasha’s anxiety as a dark mage. The mage general Iago had betrayed Nohr, robbing the nation of its coffers, and killing the war hero Zola, then conjuring up demonic monsters known as ‘Faceless’. The motive behind this is, at the moment, unknown.

Corrin and Zasha eventually arrive at a town. The voice speaks to Corrin again, telling her to prepare herself for a fight the day after. She confronts the Faceless, suppressing her urges to transform into her monstrous form. Afterward, she meets a member of the militia, a blue-haired girl by the name of Azura. After some talking, Azura tells Corrin that she wishes to go to Grayrock as well. The three girls plan to go together, and after a night in which Corrin finally sees Zasha’s magical attire, they ride together to the city.

Once in Grayrock, they enjoy a few nights there. Corrin eventually hears a haunting song that nearly causes her to transform in the middle of a restaurant in the city. Zasha comforts her, and they run into an oddly-acting Azura, where they all go back to the inn together. Zasha eventually says she needs to leave for the night, so she goes. Corrin and Azura decide to follow her.

They follow, and they learn of Zasha’s main objective in heading to Grayrock: delivering the large amount of tomes she was carrying to a man and woman named ‘Odin Dark’ and ‘Nyx’, respectively, as well as begging for a position in the army, which doesn’t hold grudges against mages. They say that they will see what they can do. Azura and Corrin hurry to avoid being spotted snooping around.

Zasha tells them of how she is waiting to join the army, and her wishes are fulfilled. They all decide to join the army together, and so go to join within the main governmental complex in the city. They meet an odd proprietor of the municipal museum, who tells them to not destroy ‘beautiful’ things. After joining the army in an oddly short time, they prepare for training.

 

**\- - -**

 

They train within the city, months passing. After a mishap involving Corrin transforming and destroying her bed in the first night, Corrin and Zasha decide to sleep in the same bed, even if it meant waking up holding each other. Corrin meets a boy by the name of Shea, who holds himself up in a serious and awkward way, making Corring slightly uncomfortable. He means well enough, so Corrin works through her discomfort and accepts him as part of her squad, a transition that is aided by Zasha’s presence within it. They then get the order to move out to Fenmarsh.

 

And now…

 

Corrin sits in the cart, holding her personal bag close. She didn’t want to risk it being taken away or harmed in some form with the other baggage, especially since she has one last thing to do with it. She takes a deep breath, and pulls out Gunter’s journal, thankful that the people sitting next to her are sleeping, even if it’s loudly. She opens the journal. The first entry she found was a long one, and she skims its contents.

 

**\- - -**

 

“She truly does look like her mother, with the deep but bright brown of her eyes. The shape of her head is also similar, alongside her hair’s straight form, an obvious inheritance with her hair this long. I feel like cutting it shorter, to keep the memories away from my mind, but it’s her decision- I’ll ask her tomorrow.

The nose resembles her father, but the similarity is most obvious when compared to Xander’s. Her nose’s strong bridge and its small angle. Her eyes also resemble Elise’s.”

A break in the text, a sketch of the different facial features- the nose, eyes, mouth, and ears, as well as a general shape of a head with hair- similar to hers are drawn within the break. Small words were written around each feature. Around the nose is ‘Xander and Garon’, the wide eyes have ‘Elise’ written by it, the mouth and ears have ‘Camilla’ next to them, and the hair and head have ‘Mikoto’ written above them. The next page is blank. Corrin flips to the next few.

Within these two is a drawing with the caption ‘combination’ above it, with the features on the page before drawn again, forming a whole head. On the next page was a drawing of Corrin’s own head captioned with the words ‘true’ above it. Corrin looks back and forth at each one, seeing faces that were nearly congruent, with minor differences in shape; arrows were drawn, letters at the end of their lines having the different names around with question marks after the name, such as ‘Camilla?’ at the opposite end of the arrow at the interior corners of the eyes which had a slight pinch. Corrin notices a soft wave in the hair, with the name ‘Camilla?’ written again, to the left of the head. ‘Elise?’ was written at the far end from a group of arrows pointing at the tip, septum, and nostrils. ‘Leo!’ was a unique one, having an exclamation mark, written at the end of two arrows which came together: one pointing at the ear, and the other pointing at the bangs in the hair above the forehead.

Corrin thinks for a moment, then remembers the time where Gunter had asked her to sit down so he could draw her, saying it was ‘to improve his skill’. Seeing this, she realizes that he had a hidden motive. She smiles, however, glad to know that this confirms what Azura had told her. They truly are royalty.

 

**\- - -**

 

Afterward was the general details of each day: Gunter’s worries on food and water, and occasionally he wrote memories of his time before having to raise Corrin. Corrin feels pangs of regret, wishing that she wasn’t born so he could’ve lived as happily as he wrote down his life in the journal. Even though he also wrote how happy he was to raise a child, something he couldn’t do due to his wife having passed away before he was even thirty, Corrin feels as if those are lies, as if he’s still there, trying to comfort her. She continues, then makes it to a unique page.

Here sits a detailed drawing of Corrin within her bed; at least, she could assume it was herself, as she lived alone with Gunter, and it was her bed the subject was in. It is a humanoid creature, scales shaded with black, white, and gray, with small horns and hands like clawed hooves. Squinting, she looks more intensely at it. Her clothes in the sketch were being covered by the scales, her hair looking as if it was mangy as scales were covering it as well. The most notable thing, however, was the tail, wrapped around her legs, touching the floor. Corrin then looks at the date on the journal. Thinking hard, she remembers.

That night, she fell asleep. Without warning, she had fallen, her bed breaking underneath her. She saw Gunter, who helped her up and offered her to sleep in his bed while he slept in the kitchen. Corrin protested, but fell asleep too fast to continue.

Flipping the page, Corrin’s memory is confirmed, the writing in this page describing the experience from Gunter’s perspective. She then closes the journal, not wishing to read any more.

_...So that’s it, then. Even he knew about my powers. _

_ Yes, he did. _

_...Why are you saying it like that? Did you know? _

_ … _

_ Answer me. _

_ … _

_ Answer me, dammit! _

_...Not answering. _ Corrin could feel the voice’s snarky tone, and she grits her teeth.

_ Fine. Whatever.  _ Corrin puts away the journal, and sighs.  _ Goodnight, I guess… It’s kinda funny telling you that. _

_ It is. Makes you sound like you’re someone talking to a random voice in your head. _

_ Shut up. _ Corrin closes her eyes, then slowly falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm cracking my knuckles, and glad I finished these three parts. This can be seen as the start of the adventure. I hope you're ready for At Least 10 more parts! Buckle up.  
> Some info on how I write:  
> I always play music. Most often, it's video game soundtracks. Yeah, I'm a big dork, sue me.  
> I have an outline set up so I know what to write; however, it's only a general outline. Part 3 was really just a single bullet point in the entire outline, and now it's become a whole three chapters. I'm thankful for that, as I didn't want to rush the training bit. Gave me time to introduce another major character for you guys to enjoy, as well as make you more connected to the current cast... hopefully.  
> EDIT: JUNE 18TH  
> I'm sorry guys, I might not write as well as I expected this summer. I've still been fighting with my depression; even though I'm on the meds, sometimes they don't work. My mania is helpful for creativity, but has negative effects in important areas, so that's a hurdle too. If I'm lucky, I can get maybe 4 or 5 parts done through this whole season. Please understand. But moving on from me, I hope you guys enjoy your summers and this story!


	16. PART 4 - Chapter 1 - “It is true.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first encounter with the enemy, and first encounter with an ally.

“Why are we stopping?” a voice says, Corrin hearing it in her halfway-awake state.

“I don’t know,” another replies. “I think we’re setting up a camp.”

“Why?” says a third.

“I don’t know!”

Corrin yawns, her bag still in her lap from her reading three nights before. She holds it tighter as she looks at the rest of the soldiers getting up, Zasha across from her still snoring. She kicks Zasha in the shin, making the dark mage snort and flinch. Corrin stands up, helping Zasha to get up. Her entire squad to her left side, the side where the cart is close, gets up and walks out. Drake stands in an empty area of a wide field, Sarah, Corrin, Zasha, and Shea following him. They all wait while the other soldiers clear out. The moon shines dimly behind a cloud, a thin crescent with darkness on the right of it. A lake sits across from them, a forest to the right.

“What do you think we are doing here?” Shea asks. Corrin, Zasha, and Sarah shrug. Drake has his hands flat against each other, touching his face. He was mouthing words, before bringing his hands down and looking at the squad with his pale green eyes.

“We’re setting up a camp. That’s the only explanation I can think of,” he says in his soft voice.

“Why would we set up a camp? It’s only been a few days on the road,” Sarah says, arms crosses at her chest.

“I would assume that we will be… waiting on other soldiers to come to the city. Perhaps from the other royal retinues?” Shea says.

“That sounds good,” Zasha says, stretching. “We may have a large force but protecting a city is gonna be tough.”

“Yeah, true,” Corrin says. “Oh, Niles is up on that hill,” she says, pointing. Everyone turns around to face him. “Let’s hear what he has to say.” After a brief moment, the crowd of soldiers falling silent, Niles speaks in a loud voice.

“Okay, everyone, here’s the plan. We set up camp here for the next few nights. We need to meet with Lady Elise’s retainers and captains. The original plan was for them to meet us at the city, but that plan’s changed. They’ve hit a hurdle of some kind, and so we need to wait on their arrival. And before you ask, no, it’s not Arthur’s doing. His force is actually doing the best; he personally is not. So don’t worry about his bad luck spreading to us.” Niles takes a pause. “...Well, sleep well. The supplies for our camp are right here,” he says, pointing to some larger carriages. “Set it up, and we can get our rest.” He goes down the hill, and the soldiers walk to the carriages. Drake’s squad follows, Corrin following in between Sarah and Zasha, Shea at the back. They eventually set up their tents, each one made for each squad, with a few not being used. While setting up the tent, Corrin winces, then thanks the gods that they have a polite boy and a religious boy sleeping in the same tent. There won’t be any ‘incidents’ to deal with.

“Well, we are all done,” Shea says, smiling. “I’ll grab the mats to sleep on.”

“I’ll come with,” Sarah says, smiling. After they leave, Drake shakes his head.

“What’s wrong?” Corrin asks. He turns to his left, his head facing Corrin. Brushing a lock of his purplish hair away from his right eye, he speaks.

“Don’t you see the way she looks at him? Love doesn’t belong on a battlefield. It’ll just make the death’s more painful.” Drake sighs.

“...I see,” Corrin says, looking to where Shea and Sarah went. She turns her head back to the tent, about to walk in, then seeing Zasha looking down to at her feet, wincing and holding in her lips. “Zasha, are you alright?”

“Hm? O-Oh, yeah, fine. Sorry.” She takes a deep breath, standing up straight. “I’ll wait out here,” she says, looking at the moon.

“...Okay,” Corrin says, confused. Drake goes to say something, but then closes his mouth, shaking his head again. Corrin looks at him oddly, then shrugs her shoulders, sitting in the tent, looking in Gunter’s journal again. She then looks in her bag again, remembering another one of its contents. She puts Gunter’s journal back in, and rubs her fingers over the title text. “‘The Gale, Undying Flame, and Frozen Spirit’.” A smile.  _ I’ll read this one to everyone, it’ll help brighten the mood. _

_ If you say so. _

_ Why? Is there something wrong with it? _

_ No, I just feel like you shouldn’t be reading tonight. _

Corrin frowns, then shakes her head. “I’m gonna read this.” A smile. “Yep…” She waits for everyone else to come in. After Shea and Sarah set up the mats for everyone, they all sit on them.

“It… Is quite dark,” Shea says.

“Yeah…” Sarah replies.

“...There were lanterns over there,” Shea says, looking down, hands on his face.

Silence.

“...Well, I will go back, and get one for us.” He steps out of the darkness of the tent and heads out.

“...So, what do you think we should do while we wait on Elise’s forces?” Sarah asks. Corrin smiles, then frowns, remembering that it’s pitch black.

“I have a book here. Zasha, you picked it out,” Corrin says.

“...Oh! You mean-? Oh man, nice choice, yeah!”

“What’s it about?” Drake asks.

“It’s called… Hang on, lemme check,” Corrin says, getting up to step outside.

“It’s called ‘The Gale, Undying Flame, and Frozen Spirit’!” Zasha says happily. “It’s about a member of each of the tribes Hoshido took over! And it’s… Really, REALLY cool! They all meet up in the slums of their city butthenthey…” She clears her throat. “But then they go to figure out just who led the attacksontheirvillages, andsotheygotoeachcityandfightagainstevilassassinsaaaaaaaaand ninjawhotrytoendtheiradventureearly AND THEY DON’T WIN! Ourheroesloseandthentheygetcapturedand… And… And…” Zasha pants. “I’m… Spoiling it.”

“...It’s fine, it’s fine,” Drake says. “Knowing all this means we can see how it plays out. You can’t just know the general story and not have fun hearing the details.”

“...Yeah… Yeah! Yeah, thanks Drake! That’s exactly it. I was… Okay, I was saying it out of excitement but…” Zasha stops. “I’ll be quiet now.” A nervous chuckle. Corrin sits down again. A few moments later, Shea arrives with a lit lantern. He puts it down in the center of the tent. “Alright, reading time!” Zasha says, smiling, rubbing her hands with anticipation.

“Oh? What are we reading?” Shea asks.

“It’s ‘The Gale, Undying Flame, and Frozen Spirit’! It’s one of my favorite books and it’s about atrio-”

“Zasha,” Drake says calmly. “Why don’t we let Corrin read?”

“...Yeah,” Zasha says bashfully. Corrin chuckles, then opens the book to the first page.

“Okay… ‘The young-”

“Th-That’s the best part! The introduction is so relaxed for a moment… But then the story picks up with a HUGE tragedy barely a page in! A-And that’s not the only one! It’s like… It’s like our the protagonist-”

“Zasha,” Drake begins, “How about we read it all first?” He has a wide smile, a calm hint of annoyance in his voice.

“...Y-Yeah.” Zasha looks down again, chuckling with embarrassment.

“...’The young girl raises her hands up, the pages of the scroll opening apart, a’... ‘A translucent’... ‘rat’?” Corrin stops, confused.

“That’s the power of scrolls, the equivalent to our tomes that Hoshidans fight with! The Onmyoji… They’re a force to be reckoned with! They fight with scrolls that summon ghostly-”

“Zasha, we understood you at the first sentence,” Shea says. “I do not mean to be rude, I just want to hear the story.”

“Ah. Yeah, sorry.” She winces, moving back. Shea turns back to Corrin.   
“...Okay, now… ‘The young girl raises her hands up, the pages of the scroll opening apart, a translucent rat flying from the center, light shining around it. “Ah!” she yelps, falling back. She then smiles after a look of something like panic. “I did it! I finally did it! I summoned my first spirit!” She smiles, and’...”

 

**\- - -**

 

“Zasha, we understand what you said in the first couple sentences. Please let us read,” Drake sighs.

“B-But… Alright, alright.” She pouts. “I just want to help out, though!”

“Yes, you did a few times when we needed more info. But we don’t need you to talk about the whole story. I… How about tomorrow you read it instead? That way we don’t have to cut you off every time.” Drake rubs his temples.

“That’s a great idea! Man, you should’ve suggested that before…” Zasha pouts again. Drake puts on a face of mental exhaustion. Corrin sighs, putting the book down. “I’m gonna talk a walk, it’s late and I wanna get tired so I can sleep.” She stands up.

“Yes… It is late, but being in a carriage all day does not help to make you tired,” Shea says, arms crossed. “How about I walk with you?”

“How about you walk with me instead?” Sarah says with a mischievous smile, standing up as well. “We can go over this way!” she says happily, picking him up with his left arm, dragging him to the left of the tent’s entrance.

“...I guess I’ll go the other way… The lake does sound like nice scenery.”

“I’m gonna stay here and reread the book,” Zasha says. “So I can see if there are any more parts I need to explain.” A smile from her.

“I’m going to clean our weapons here. We’ll take off our armor when we go to sleep, so don’t plan on going on any nighttime swims.” Drake gives a harsh glare at Corrin with the final words.

“Alright, I got it. Can I have my sword, though?” Corrin asks.

“Sure.” Drake hands it to her.

“Okay… See you, guys.” Corrin walks to the lake. Once she was far from the camp, able to see the whole of it from her position, she sees a figure standing in front of the water. Her brows go into a knot of confusion, then she walks forward slowly, right hand on her sword. She relaxes her stance when she sees that it’s Azura. “Hey, Azura!” she yells, looking at her sister, pale in the moonlight. Corrin makes it to Azura’s position.

“Corrin, why are you here?” Azura asks, her face neutral.

“Sister! I mean… Azura. It’s… It’s uncomfortable to say ‘sister’, is your name alone fine?”

“I prefer it.” She makes a soft smile. Corrin smiles back, nodding.

“Well, I just wanted to take a walk,” Corrin replies.

“...This… This isn’t good,” Azura says, turning to the forest, close to them.

“Why?”

“...We need to look in the forest. Now.” Azura runs to it.

“Wait! Why?” Corrin catches up to her sister.

“I… I feel this… Dread. A feeling like the ones I get when I see something ahead of us. There are… I know there is danger in this forest, but I didn’t think it would come to us so soon. We need to hurry and confirm this, however… I may just be paranoid and anticipating this early.” Corrin nods, and they reach the first few trees. Azura slows down, walking through the trees calmly, her footsteps quiet. Corrin looks down, avoiding any dead leaves or twigs on the ground. Azura then stops her, and she waits. Azura squats, and Corrin sees silhouettes ahead of them.

“...the plan, then?” a feminine voice says. Corrin sees it coming from a long-haired ninja with her arms crossed, odd armor with three spikes along the backs of them.

“Yes,” a gritty and masculine voice says, coming from a ninja with noticeable red hair, his back to them. “We’re to strike tonight… Even if they know we’re here.” He turns back and in the direction of Corrin and Azura. Azura’s pale skin reaches an even whiter tone, and Corrin freezes, before grabbing her sister by the arm and running away, back to the camp. They pant, not of exhaustion, but fear, and reach the camp, before yelling to the soldiers in their tents and around campfires.

“EVERYONE!” Corrin shouts as she runs closer. “NINJA! THE HOSHIDAN HAVE SOLDIERS IN THE FOREST!” Soldiers come out of their tents, some of them putting their armor on, most of them pulling out their weapons. They hear someone yell back. It was Niles.

“THIS BETTER NOT BE SOME KIND OF LIE!” His voice booms back to them, and they run even faster.

Corrin and Azura finally make it to the first of the tents before shuriken fly at them. They hide behind some tents, other soldiers doing the same, shuriken peppering the ground around them. The tents manage to take the damage, their exteriors being made of thick leather. The hardier soldiers step out, holding shields high as they moved closer to the forest. Ninja soon come running out, the initial barrage of shuriken stopping. The Nohrian soldiers rush to meet them, holding their shields high as the ninja charge in with their shuriken, the decorated ones bringing katana down on the Nohrians. Fireballs go flying in the air, stopping for a moment, then fly down on the ninja behind the front lines, lightning dropping on them from above as well. Archers were sending arrows flying overhead, Azura being one of them, taking down the ninja furthest from the front lines. Then the ninja manage to overpower the first soldiers, pouring through gaps to reach the mages. They’re intercepted by the sword fighters, Corrin herself crossing blades with two of them trying to overpower her.

One of the ninja manage to nick Corrin’s right shoulder with his shuriken. She felt the sting of their poison pulsing through her arm, and she kicks him away. The other ninja, one decorated with more armor, goes for Corrin’s back with her katana. Corrin barely manages to swing her sword to stop it, the ninja behind her grabbing her head, trying to flip Corrin over. Corrin stumbles backwards, but catches herself with her left arm, and jolts herself back, dodging another swipe of the katana on her right foot, as well as headbutting the ninja’s gut. He lets go of her, stumbling back, and she drops with a grunt of pain, then brings herself up quickly with her sword, stopping a strike from the katana. The other ninja comes from behind her, and she shuts her eyes tight.

_ Do it. _

She opens them, gray veins inside, and she swipes with her left hand, now a scaled, gaping maw with fangs, and tears the ninja’s right leg off, him letting out a scream in pain. The ninja with the katana freezes in fear. Corrin’s arm returns to its normal form, and she takes advantage of the pause in the attack to swing her right leg to trip the ninja with the katana. Corrin gets up after the ninja drops, and raises her sword to stab the ninja in the chest. The sword slips cleanly through the gap in the ninja’s armor, getting into her chest. The ninja’s face freezes with a look of pain, then her head drops, her heart having been pierced. Corrin gets up, and silences the other ninja, who was on the ground, desperately trying to hold onto his stump leg. She looks away as the sword goes into his chest, and pulls it out, turning to the next lone ninja charging at her.

Fighting her way through the crowd, she makes it to the back of the line, where the final wave of ninja wait. She stands alone, her sword and boots covered in blood, and she glares at all of them. Then a loud yell sounds off from the forest in a familiar, gritty voice.

“ALL OF YOU, COME BACK! RETREAT!” In response to this, the ninja run back, some being taken down as they retreat by arrows or javelins. The Nohrians attempt to charge, but the captains had made their way to the front and back of the force, giving out similar orders to pull back. That’s when the two ninja Corrin and Azura saw come out of the forest. They stare at Corrin, who stands frozen in place, her blood filled with too much adrenaline to hear the orders. The red-haired one steps forward first. He raises his katana.

“I saw your trick. Scary,” he says in a mocking tone. Corrin goes pale. “I ask for you to give me a fair duel. Tell your comrades off before they try to interfere.”

“And if I d-?” A shuriken flies by her ear, barely cutting through her hair. She turns around. “EVERYONE!” she yells. They all turn to her. Seeing the two ninja standing in front of her, they prepare to charge. “DON’T FIGHT! THIS IS BETWEEN ME AND THEM!” A yell comes back.

“CORRIN, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Niles yells. “STEP AWAY SO WE CAN TAKE THEM DOWN!”

“I… I CAN’T!” She sees the captain shake his head from his spot far away from her, and the other soldiers step back a bit, still ready to fight.

“...A Nohrian with honor. Surprising. I’ve only heard of one of them like that, and I haven’t met many others.”

“‘One’?” Corrin asks, turning around.

“That one you praise like some kind of god. Hans, if I’m remembering his name correctly.” The female ninja to his right gives him a nod as he turns to her. “Yes, Hans.” Corrin nods.

“I’ve heard of him too.”

“So, I’m assuming you’re one of his ‘fans’ who actually tries to emulate him, then? Not some coward who runs when the battle is too hard, when the foe is too ‘scary’,” he says mockingly, “or when they just feel like it. I respect you.” He goes into his fighting stance, holding his katana against his right arm, left leg forward. “My name is Saizo, the fifth Saizo of my clan which named me. What is your name, Nohrian?”

“I’m Corrin.” Her faces grows into a determined one. If his mask were off, she would be seeing his smile.

“So, Corrin, are you ready, then?”

Corrin stands still for a moment, then goes into her own stance, holding her sword in front of her, bending forward like a sprinter preparing to run. “Yes.”

“...Then let us begin.” A pause. The air grows still. The waves on the lake close to them filling the space. A leaf in the trees falls slowly, the air carrying it towards them. They both turn to it quickly, and when it finally falls in between them, they turn their heads back to each other, and begin.

He charges forward, holding his left hand out. Corrin barrels towards him, then hops to the side, and he turns his angle, sending his left hand into her chest, knocking the wind from her as she intercepts his katana with her sword. He pulls out his shuriken, showing it to her, then pushes it against her sword as well, pushing her back even more. Regaining her strength, she pushes back, making him hop back as his block is broken. He jumps, spinning in the air as she moves back, then he comes flying down, his katana aimed for her head. She moves back, and he throws his shuriken, hitting her square in the chest, knocking the wind from her as it pierces her armor, barely cutting through her left breast. She grunts, and pulls it out, throwing it back at him. He stops, taking it, then squints at her. He opens his eyes as puts it back on his side, then charges again, flipping his katana around to a normal position, and meets her sword, their faces getting closer as they push together. His glare is powerful, and her teeth grind against each other as she stares at him with pure ferocity. Their arms flex to the fullest, their swords unmoving as they stay locked together. Corrin then begins to slowly overpower him, the gray veins growing in her eyes. She then relaxes her breath, the veins receding as they come to a stalemate again. He then jumps back, her sword going through empty air. They stand against each other, Corrin having her blade raised high still, then he sighs, and lowers his.

“You are the stronger one.” Corrin raises a brow in confusion, as does the female ninja. She speaks in a worried tone.

“Saizo, what are you-”

“Kagero, you saw it for yourself. She has those powers… And she just used them again. She could easily overpower me.” He shakes his head, looking down, then up at Corrin. “Nohrian… No, Corrin. Why didn’t you use those powers at the end there? I saw gray veins fill your eyes. Your strength grew, and I could’ve easily been cut down. Why didn’t you fight to the fullest? Do you see me as too weak to face against?” Corrin stays silent for a moment, putting her sword back in its sheath. He shakes his head again. “I could easily kill you now, if you didn’t have your powers. Why do you put your blade away? Am I… Do you see me as some weak being, lesser than you?” His brows drop down fiercely. “Raise your blade if that is your true mindset. Or shift into some monstrous form. Strike me down in whatever way you please. But don’t look down on me.”

“...No, I don’t see you as weak or lesser. Far from it.” Saizo and Kagero look at Corrin with confusion.

“...You two are honorable ninja. I’ve met Hoshidans before. They attacked a city filled with innocent people without warning, they tore into a villa full of nothing more than butlers and maids.” Saizo’s brows drop again, his chest rising quickly with fast, angry breaths.

“That is not how we…” He stops himself, shutting his eyes.

“Hoshidans have lost their honor, haven’t they? They’ve become no worse than the Nohrians who they drove to desperation?” Saizo stands still for a moment.

“It… It is true. That is truly how Hoshido has become.” Corrin replies with silence. “...We drove Nohr to poverty and weakness. No wonder we’re told your people have no honor. You have no want for battle. No want for glory from defeating your foe. You only want to become strong- no, become even somewhat alive again.” He stops again.

“Ever since the original war began-” A pause, and he shakes his head at himself. “No, ever since Sumeragi took the throne a decade and a half ago, we’ve lost our honor. My grandfather told me of the better days. The days when a just king led us, not a tyrannical emperor dominating villages too small to stop his forces. Not some… Some sickening monster assassinating enemy generals then killing the messenger to start a war.” Saizo continues to pant with rage, then he takes off his mask, revealing a handsome face with a lip bleeding from being bit. “N-Not some… Scum who taught our soldiers slaughter instead of combat and honor. Not some disgusting farce for a ruler holding his own children as prisoners to make their retainers fight for him, feeding them lies to make them think they’re doing the right thing!” He continues panting.

“S-Saizo!” Kagero says, tugging his arm. “Wh-What if-?!”

“Forget about those other soldiers, about those scum we call our troops! Those who… Who took torches to a city because we couldn’t protest! Because otherwise we would be dead, slain in front of our own lords! Do you wish to hurt Lord Ryoma like that?! Do you wish to break our promise?! Th-That we… That we would do anything to get close to the Emperor… So we can finally kill that disgusting creature that dares to rule the throne! So Lord Ryoma… No, so Lord Takumi doesn’t need to see any of his siblings broken again…” Saizo shuts his eyes, and leans on Kagero’s left side, her eyes widening at this moment, the only moment of true pain she has seen Saizo show. He was making half-muted sounds, something like broken coughs.

“...Corrin,” Kagero says, holding the other ninja close. “We will come with you. It would be safer if we were your prisoners, for both our consciences and lives.”

“...So you mean that you surrender?”

“No. I mean… I mean that we will join you. We will defect. We will work with the Nohrians…” She pauses, then shakes her head. “We will work with you, to put an end to this war. We have much to tell you about what’s truly happening. You heard Saizo’s speech. I will explain it more clearly, give you more knowledge on the subject.”

“...Are you being honest with me?” Corrin says, her brow dropping with suspicion.

“If I wasn’t, I would’ve killed you when you were fighting Saizo.” She holds him tighter as he brings his right arm around her back, grabbing air before she brings him close. “Can you bring us back to your camp?” Corrin nods, then turns around.

 

**\- - -**

 

“So you’re saying these two aren’t prisoners, but they’re defectors?” Niles says with a calm face.

“Yes,” Corrin replies, standing next to Saizo and Kagero, the former having regained his composure, his mask back on and his eyes bleary. Nohrian soldiers stood next to them, Saizo and Kagero’s weapons being held by soldiers outside of the large tent. Niles looks at Kagero in the eyes, then Saizo, then Corrin, who stares back with seriousness.

“...I never thought I’d say this, but I accept these two.”

“S-Sir!” says the soldier on the left, her brown eyes opening wide with concern. “What if they plan to ruin us?!”

“They would’ve done it a long time ago,” he says. “You two are ninja,” he says, looking at Saizo and Kagero. “You could’ve easily slipped into the ranks when some soldiers decide to explore the forest, taking their identities, then finding a way to meet with the captains. Or…” He says, making a sinister smile at Corrin. “You could’ve actually killed this one before she came back to us with the information of your presence.” He turns back to Saizo and Kagero, his face going neutral again. “Why didn’t you?”

“...We needed to lose,” Kagero says. “Saizo doesn’t want to admit it, but we truly wanted to lose.” Saizo looks to the right, away from Niles and Kagero, his brows knotting.

“...If we let you win, we could be taken as prisoners. If not, we would’ve had to wait on the next group of soldiers and… For some reason, we felt it would be better to trust you.”

“...I would say that was a good plan considering Elise’s captains, but then again, if one of hers that wasn’t Effie or Arthur was the main leader, you might’ve been unlucky. Not as unlucky as Arthur though,” he says with a smirk, prompting confusion from Kagero and Saizo. Niles frowns in embarrassment. “A-Anyways, let’s lay down some rules. You are to stay within the tent and carriage we have prepared for you. Your weapons will not be given to you unless if there is an emergency. And you will still have soldiers watching you, so don’t even think about turning on us. Also pray that our other troops don’t mistake you for enemies. Friendly fire, and all that.” He stands. “Now, let’s lead you to your tents. You can tell us what you know in the morning, when everyone is ready to hear it.”

“Right,” Saizo says, following him. Kagero moves forward, then stops and looks at Corrin. Despite the guard behind her prodding her, she pushes his hand down and speaks.

“Corrin.”

“H-Huh? Yes?”

“...Thank you.” Kagero turns back around, and walks out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my GOD this is the longest chapter I've written. 7 pages. 7 pages in Google Docs. And this is just part 4. I can't believe this. I wrote this in A SINGLE DAY. Maybe I'll be able to write a lot more of this fic than I expected during this summer!


	17. PART 4 - Chapter 2 - “That is what I know, what I saw, and what I heard.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New information shines light on the situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for mental torture/abuse. And character death. Lots of character death.

The two ninja were sitting down on the ground, Niles leaning against the back wall of the tent’s interior and Corrin standing in the right corner. Saizo sat to Kagero’s right, his eyes shut, as if he were asleep silently. Niles clears his throat, prompting Kagero to look up at him. “So, you’re ready to talk?” Niles asks. Kagero nods. He turns his head to the right to face Corrin. “Lucky you brought in these two peacefully enough, so you’re probably the best one to ask them.” Corrin nods at him, then turns back to Kagero. “...Well, go on.”

“Oh! Yeah.” Corrin clears her throat, looking from him to Kagero again. “Well… What was Saizo trying to say before? About the other soldiers, specifically? How they… ‘Torched a city’?” Kagero closes her eyes, breathing slowly. She opens them again, looking at Corrin.

“...This will be a lot to tell you, if you wish to know everything right now. I suggest you get a notepad of some kind.” Corrin chuckles, a soft smile on her face. “I’m not saying that as a joke. It will be a lot of information to handle.”

Corrin goes silent for a moment, biting her lip. “...Oh. Well, uh…”

“It’s fine, I got it,” Niles says, pointing at his head. Corrin and Kagero look at him. “I can remember the day I was born. It was quite eventful,” he says with a smirk. “But in all seriousness,” he adds, his smirk dropping, “I can handle it.”

“...If you say so,” Kagero says, turning back to Corrin. “Anyways, you want me to begin with the other soldiers?”

“Yes,” Corrin says, her face serious. Kagero nods.

“Then I’ll tell you.” She takes a more comfortable posture, leaning against the wall of the tent opposite to Niles and Corrin. “It began off with what we thought was a simple siege. We were told to go to a city, one on the border between Hoshido and Izumo. The name… It’s not important anymore. Our orders were to take the city, as, according to our intel and leaders, it was being held by Nohrians and rebels. Saizo and I took it upon ourselves to do some reconnaissance without asking our superiors. As the retainers of the royal heirs, we are given lower positions than the captains appointed by Sumeragi.”

“That’s the opposite of what we do here,” Niles says, raising his right brow. “Our lords put trust in us first.” Kagero shakes her head.

“Our lords aren’t in charge. Sumeragi is. Saizo and I assumed that they simply gave him control, but… Well, I’ll continue with what I have to say.” She closes her eyes, as if steeling herself. Opening them, she continues. “When we arrived in the city, we learned the worst. The people in the city weren’t Nohrian allies. Saizo and I had our doubts originally, so that’s why we went in; to see if our suspicions were true or not, and if they weren’t, to learn more about the enemy. These people… They weren’t enemies. They were… This city was struggling. Poor. This being Izumo, the nobles are much more caring for the lower classes than Hoshido. We learned much about Izumo and the rest of the Golden Trio as a whole in this night.

The cities that were suffering because of the war were filled with the nobles using all of their resources to get supplies for the rest of the citizens, essentially draining themselves as the cities occupied by Mokushujin forces made them pay horrifically high amounts for even the smallest of rations. The capital itself is controlled by a division of Kotaro’s own elite.” She pauses for a moment. “Kotaro is the Mokushujin daimyo, if you don’t know.” Corrin and Niles nod. 

“We know,” Niles says.

“Anyways, this city is… was one of the impoverished. The military presence was severely lacking. Saizo and I went back to our superiors, and before they gave the order to charge in, we told them of the city’s state. We were berated for our ‘insubordination’; not asking for permission to investigate meant we were put under a tighter watch. We already knew we were being followed and monitored, but them being open about it shocked us both. And they went ahead and carried out the order. I…” Kagero stops. “I…” Her brows dip down at the center, her face becoming pained. “...I… I didn’t join them. Saizo refrained from fighting too. We… We stood up on a building and watched.” She breathes deep, and brings her left hand over her mouth, her breathing speeding up. After a few moments, she calms down, and begins speaking again, her expression low and dark.

“...We watched… They slaughtered the… It wasn’t even a standing army. It was just a militia. There weren’t real soldiers, there were… I saw kids as young as 15 fighting in there. They… After those who fought back were killed, they… They forced everyone else out of their homes, the mages with us burning them down, explosive shuriken being used to topple the walls. It was nothing more than a slaughter. Slaughter followed by wanton destruction. Everyone who didn’t fight back… They lost their businesses. Their homes. Everything. I… I couldn’t go down there. Saizo stayed up with me…” She closes her eyes, mouth open as she breathes out a ragged pant of self-loathing, her head facing down.

“We… We couldn’t go against our orders. We saw a few soldiers who had opposed like we would. They were weeded out by the others, called out for trying to stop the madness. They were… They were burned in the fires of the buildings as well. It was… It was a message. Both to soldiers like us and the citizens who were forced to watch before they were let out of the razed city. That Hoshido shows no mercy. That there will be no care or consideration for the people who can’t fight. That giving up is all you can do, and even then it might not spare you.” She looks up, her face composed again, but her teeth grit. “That’s what Hoshido does. That’s what the nation has become. That’s the culture, the way the people are being raised to be.” She closes her eyes. “That’s what all these younger soldiers have grown to be. It’s as if Sumeragi is some kind of demon, some kind of godlike being that can sway hearts. What were once kids, innocent like any child is, suddenly become… It’s brainwashing. It’s like they’re being brainwashed by something. As if something is twisting their minds around, something beyond human control. Not Sumeragi’s speeches, sermons from teachers and propaganda, it’s… It’s terrifying. I feel an evil aura from some of them… It scares me.” She opens her eyes, looking up at Corrin. “I hope this helped.”

“...In all honestly, it just confirms things we already know,” Niles says. Kagero turns to him, eyes going wide. “Sumeragi is using intensive propaganda to control his people. They’re becoming ruthless and immoral. That’s what you said. Not meaning any offense, but we already know that.” Kagero opens her mouth slightly, as if to protest, then closes it, looking down.

“You’re… Correct. I apologize for wasting your time.”

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t a waste. It’s important to know. Especially the bits about the… ‘Golden Trio’,” he says with a grimace. “Kotaro is working with them, we already knew that. But he has forces occupying the cities, and they’re driving the ones that haven’t given up into poverty, or even calling Hoshido to destroy them.” He shakes his head, closing his eyes. “That is very important to know. Kotaro is a major player in this as well. I wonder about that Izana… Eh, he’s not important as far as we know. He might not even be alive.” Corrin and Kagero wince, looking away from him. “Well, Kagero,” Niles says, opening his eyes and looking at her. “Is there anything for you explain more?”

“...Saizo knows it better. I think we should wait on him to wake up.” A sigh. They all turn to Saizo.

“I… I have been awake. I’ve been trying to meditate, to relax my mind… But that’s a luxury I cannot afford. Not now, anyways.” He looks around. “So, you wish to know what we know beyond the battle we went through before arriving here?”

“Yes,” Niles says. Saizo looks as if he has a glare, then he sighs, eyebrows dropping at the outside corners with exhaustion.

“I’ll tell you. But… It’s harder to stomach.”

“I can handle it. Can you, Corrin?” She flinches, having been lulled to a stupor by Kagero’s story.

“O-Oh, yes. I can. Please tell us, Saizo.” He shakes his head.

“Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Yes, I can.” Corrin gives Saizo a strong gaze. He nods, and sits up, arms still on his legs.

“...I was alone in the palace. I was looking for Ryoma, I wanted to speak with him personally, about a private matter that concerns us alone. I’ll tell you it here. I…” He brings his right hand up, as if pushing his mask up higher. “...I wanted to ask what he wanted for his birthday.” Corrin smiles a bit, and Niles shakes his head with a smirk. “Yes, I know, it’s… Embarrassing to say it, I suppose. But… I wish that the mood stayed as lighthearted as I expected. When I made it to his bedroom, I didn’t see him in there. I even snuck in, picking the lock carefully. I went all around the palace, fearing the worst. I prayed that I would find him, and… Well, I wish I didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Corrin asks, cocking her head to the right.

“...He was inside of the palace’s lower levels, a place reserved for prisoners the royals want to keep close. He was with in siblings in one of the larger ones. I knew this place well, I’ve brought people there. It’s a gilded cage, essentially. There’s everything you would need in a home: a bathroom, bedrooms, dining area. But it’s all magically monitored. Every little action is recorded within there, to be… ‘replayed’ by onmyoji using their divination magic. Something like a reverse divining, if you will. I couldn’t break into the assorted cells to look for them because of that; however I was quite lucky, as Lord Takumi happened to be the one to be in the entryway of the heirs’ cell when I arrived. The entryways are the one place free from any monitoring. That’s when I learned about why they were there.

He yelled at my presence before seeing me, shocking me. I’m usually so quiet, but this time I wasn’t, I suppose. I remember the scene well…”

 

**\- - -**

 

“Stay back!” Takumi yelled. “Don’t you dare come any closer! I… I’ll… J-Just stay back!” I entered his view, and his fierce face softened into one of relief. “S-Saizo? Saizo! You… You’re alive!” I was confused, and walked closer.

“Lord Takumi, why are you in here? Is your brother nearby?”

“Y-Yes, he’s with me in here. And…” Takumi then moved his face as close to mine as he could. “We’re trapped in here. Father… N-No, Sumeragi took us all down here. Sakura, Hinoka, Ryoma, and myself. I…” He winced, looking down to the left, a look of pain on his face.

“Lord Takumi, what’s happening here? ‘Trapped’?”

“F-Fah… Sumeragi… He had us thrown in here. And we can’t leave. We can never leave until he… Until he does SOMETHING to us, and I don’t want to know what it is!”

“Lord Takumi, keep your voice down!” I tried to calm him down, but he began to pant. That’s when Lord Ryoma came out of the main cell and into the entryway, going up to Takumi, and holding gently from behind.

“Takumi, relax. I can hear you from inside. So can our sisters.” He looked up, seeing me, his face still stern as Takumi’s expression changed into one… I didn’t expect. He was like a newborn, shaking, clutching onto Ryoma with his face filled with fear and pain. “...Saizo, how did you get here?”

“I was looking for you, my Lord. What’s happening here? Why are you all trapped here?” Lord Ryoma went quiet. He looked down at Takumi and made more space in his arms for his brother, who was making soft sobs.

“...The man who was once our father imprisoned us here. He…” Ryoma looked at me in the eyes. “He’s held us here after the last time we met each other. It’s been weeks, Saizo.”

“I know… I know. It’s why I came to find you, Lord Ryoma.” He shook his head.

“So you found me. And now you know this. What are you going to do?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I need to help you escape! What kind of question is that?!” Another shake of his head.

“Saizo… Where do you think Hinoka and Sakura’s retainers went?” He stared at me, a cold look in his eyes. I responded with silence, and he continued. “...They were killed, Saizo.”

“What?! The Nohrians killed them already?!”

“No… Sumeragi did.”

“...What?”

“They… They tried to free us. They failed. In trying to destroy this door and wall, they made too much noise; they had already attracted the guards’ attention, and they were found soon. After we watched them fight against the guards, we… We thought they would’ve won. That we would be safe. Then the magic came. Azama managed to hold it back, but then he was pushed back when exhaustion grabbed him. They were all tied before us, and Sumeragi personally came down. He brought us four out, to look at them. Then he…” Ryoma paused, putting his right hand over Takumi’s head, as if trying to shut his ears. “...He had them killed in front of us. It was… He had their weapons taken away, leaving them unarmed. Setsuna didn’t even know how to fight without a bow, and… They still tried.”

“...Ryoma… Lord Ryoma… You’re not saying that he…?” Knowing what I was about to say, he nodded.

“Seeing their deaths… Left us all broken. Sakura and Hinoka… They… They still cry. Sakura… It’s like it left her mind. Sometimes she’ll start crying, begging for them to come, and yet, when she doesn’t cry, she speaks of them like it’s the weather. ‘Do you think we’re going to see Hana and Subaki soon?’ ‘Hinoka, Azama is rude, but I think it’s nice when he talks seriously. Is he coming soon?’ She keeps asking these questions. We… We all just stay silent. Hinoka keeps herself from breaking down in front of our little sister. We try to make things lighter, but every day, it’s the same. Her mind practically snapped from what she saw. Hinoka’s always crying. Takumi… I’m always quiet. I don’t know what to say. Takumi’s trying to be the one who lightens the mood. He… You see how well that’s working.” Ryoma’s voice was quivering and cracking as he spoke, and… I’ve never heard him like that. It was as if I was listening to a crying wyvern. A strong roar reduced to broken breaths.

“Lord Ryoma… What can I do?”

“...Live, Saizo. Don’t die like them. I don’t… I don’t want my siblings to see any more of their friends die.”

“...Friends?”

“I don’t want to see my closest friends die either.”

“...Lord Ryoma, do you mean-”

“Saizo, you’re not some nameless guard. You’ve protected me for years. You’re a close friend of mine, and… I don’t want to see you gone too. Please, live for me Saizo. That’s all I ask. Live… And maybe we can see each other after this Hell is over.”

“Lord Ryoma…” I remember feeling frozen to that spot, my eyes closed, head down. Then I looked back at him. “I won’t give up, Lord Ryoma. I swear that I will free you. I will live to do it, and I will live after it. For you, my Lord.” After I said that, I felt no doubt until his response. I still can’t tell if I was being idealistic, or if he is just resigned to such a fate.

“Saizo… Please, don’t think like that. Just let all this end. Then we can see each other, no matter how badly this scars us. I don’t want you or Kagero dead.” I stayed silent after, then I simply nodded, and left, heading back to Kagero.

 

**\- - -**

 

“...We received the order to move out to Izumo’s border soon after, and thus you have what occurred in Kagero’s account. I told her of my meeting with Ryoma after that, and after a few days, we arrived here.” He opens his eyes, looking at Corrin. “That is what I know, what I saw, and what I heard.”

“...That’s quite a lot to take in,” Niles says. Corrin’s brows are knit, with her biting her lower lip out of stress and worry for her half-siblings. “Corrin, thank you,” Niles says, breaking Corrin out of her pained state.

“H-Huh? For what?”

“For finding us two new allies who brought us this amount of information. Kotaro is working with Hoshido, and has occupied Izumo. We can assume Kohga is next, or is already under control. The Hoshidan heirs are being held prisoners in their own home, scarred mentally by the torture Sumeragi put them through. Both confirm the same thing, the one thing we’ve always known.” He goes silent, lowering his head slightly, eye closed.

“...What is that?” Corrin asks, feeling tense. Kagero and Saizo were looking at him as well.

He opens his eye, and looks forward. “...That Sumeragi is a fucking piece of shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm an awful human being. This is literally the only direction this is able to go to. Don't worry, though. The Hoshidan heirs do get their good times. Coming up in a while, though, if my outline goes as planned. I'm not tagging the Hoshidan heirs until I get to there, so that way it's not just "you sick monster you destroyed my favs" when I tag them. Now if you excuse me, I need to sleep in an iron maiden tonight.


	18. PART 4 - Chapter 3 - “I had a weird dream.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new plan, an odd dream, and a warm morning.

“So what’s our next plan?” Corrin yawns, standing by the captains at the table. There was a short silence.

“Hmmm…” Captain Odin begins, before opening his eyes, and looking to his right, at Corrin, then the rest of the members in the war council. Niles groans as Odin opens his mouth and raises his right hand up. He looks deflated for a moment, then turns to his his right again, staring at the one-eyed archer. “What? I haven’t even spoken yet!”

“Look, your plans usually aren’t the best, no offense.”

“Offense taken!” Odin says, crossing his arms with a pout. “This time I’m sure I have something good!”

“Fine, say it,” Sorley says, pinching his brow with his left hand.

“Okay,” Odin says, putting on a serious face. “When Elise’s force arrives- Captains Arthur and Effie, to be exact- we’ll move down to Fenmarsh as planned. After we retake it, we’ll then move onward to the Golden Trio. Since Mokushu is the closest one to us, we’ll need to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike; I say we take their bait.”

“‘Take their bait’?” Sorley asks, raising his right brow.

“They still believe us to be ignorant… We follow them to their trap, but little do they know… We have them surrounded with three-fifths of our force. Three of us will lead our forces to surround Mokushu, then to charge into the area we’re led into when the trap is sprung. The problem is that we will probably receive heavy losses within their trap.”

“Put me in there,” Corrin says.

“What?” Niles says, glaring at Odin. “You’re asking me to send my own troops to die! And you-!” he begins, turning to Corrin. “You agree with this plan?! What’s gotten into you?! We can’t lose a soldier who managed to make Hoshidan captains surrender!”

“I can handle myself… Actually,” she says, looking to the side. “I’ll play messenger.”

“...What?” Niles says, looking as pale as his dark cheeks could allow.

“I’ll say we’re looking to contact the Izumite forces. That we’re looking to see if our intel is correct.” A determined look grows on her.

“What do you mean by ‘intel’?” Sorley asks, confused.

“I mean that we lie and say we don’t believe that they’re actually conquered. Mokushu believes us to be ignorant, right? I’ll play the fool while you all surround them.”

“That’s worse than sending two of our forces in. That’s literal suicide. I’m not losing a soldier like you.” Niles looks at Corrin fiercely.

“Yeah, we can’t lose someone like you! You found us two incredible soldiers who’ll work for us! My plan is safer,” Odin says. Sorley stays silent.

“Please, trust me! I can do this, I know I can,” Corrin says, her face desperate.

“I say we let her go,” Sorley says.

“Sorley, do you know what you’re saying? You’re giving her a death sentence!” Niles says.

“I trust her judgement. She went ahead, alone, against two Hoshidan ninja. She proved her strength against some of the strongest; some simple soldiers can’t kill her that easily. And if you’re truly that worried, then how about we send in those ninja with her?” he says, arms crossed.

“I… I agree,” Odin says.

“Odin, you too?” Niles says. Corrin smiles at the support.

“C’mon, think about it. Corrin can fight them easily, and the ninja are the best ones to outsmart them. Our spies can’t sneak as well as them,” Odin says. “We should do this. Of course, it’ll be a while before we can make it there, so we still have time to review this with the other captains. It’s a dangerous plan, but we’ll still come out the victor. I know we will.”

“...I’m outnumbered. You guys win,” Niles sighs. “But if this fails, then you’ve made a big mistake.” He shakes his head.

“This’ll work. I’m sure of it, Niles.” Sorley stares fiercely at him. Niles glares back, then sighs again.

“Let’s call it a night, then. We’ll review this after we retake Grayrock.”

Everyone nods, then returns to their respective tents. Corrin walks quietly into hers, and lays down on her mat. She finds herself comfortable, hearing everyone’s soft snores, except for Sarah’s loud ones. She closes her eyes.

 

**\- - -**

 

A broken sound, “-/-\\-, are you alright?” a deep masculine voice says. The child stands, their small form sore and covered in dirt. They looks at the ball in their hands and smile.

“I caught it!” they say, smiling despite the singeing pain on their right cheek. They smile at the dark form walking up to them, taking the ball from their hands.

“How about we stop for the day? You had a nasty fall, and you’re covered in dirt. How will your mother feel about this? You should get cleaned up.” They frown, then shrug and head into the house again, leaving the courtyard. After getting washed by some shocked blobs of gray, they walk back outside, smirking and picking up a short wooden practice sword. Taking swings, they’re eventually stopped as a white form yells at them in a feminine voice.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” it roars, before running up to them and dragging it by the hand. “PLEASE, I don’t want you to ruin your hair! We’ve been getting you all dressed up for the parade coming up soon, and I don’t want you to make us clean your hair three times over. Do you want that?“ it says, hands on its hips. They groan, and then wait inside of the main building for a scolding. When it didn’t come for a few minutes, they sneak into their room.

“If I can’t use a practice sword, then I’ll do the next best thing.” They turn to their wall, and rub their hands together, making fists. “No one will notice if I make a hole in here… It’ll be too quiet anyways. And I won’t even swing near the wall, I’ll just be punching the air, stretching my arms. I’ll lift up some heavy things… This’ll get me tougher.” They begin to punch the air, making grunts with each pump of their arms. They keep doing it, making little sidesteps, shadowboxing. Eventually, they swing their arms towards the wall, and wince, realizing their gaffe. Despite trying to stop their momentum, they hit the wall anyways. However, no pain was felt, and the wall crumbled as they hit it. They stare at the wall curiously, then their fist. Odd scales were growing over it, and they begin to panic, the scales covering more of them, rising up their own slowly. “M-Mama?! Papa?! Anyone?! Pl-Please hurry!” they shout, running out of their room. The scales continued to grow, the gray forms reaching them, standing back, panicking as well. The white and black form arrive, looking at each other, then the black form grabs the child by their shoulders.

“Relax -/-\\-,” they say softly, a broken sound forming the end. “Just relax. Please, it’ll stop if you calm down.” Despite the reassuring words, they still panic, scales reaching their shoulders. The child begins to cry, gray veins filling their eyes. Scales cover their face, and they slowly begin to rise up, their body growing, arms and legs stretching as their head takes on a new shape. A final, soft cry comes from them.

“I don’t want this.”

 

**\- - -**

 

Corrin wakes up in a cold sweat, her lips quivering. She saw Zasha sitting up on her mat, staring at her with a confused and worried face in the dim light of dawn. Corrin looks to the right, scratching the left side of her neck, then back at Zasha. “U-Uh… Good morning.”

“Morning… Are you feeling alright? It sounded like you said something.” Zasha cocks her head to the left.

“I… I had a weird dream.” Corrin looks down. “I think I need time to rest after these past few days. Do you think you can be the one to keep reading tonight?”

“Of course! And uh…” Zasha lowers her voice, dragging herself closer to Corrin. “If you need to talk, I’m an option, ‘kay? I don’t want to see you hurt or feeling down. Or anyone else.” Zasha gives Corrin a warm smile.

“...Thanks.” Corrin smiles back. “I think I could go for a walk, though. Would you come?” Zasha nods, then gets up, reaching her hand out for Corrin to stand. Corrin grabs it, then stretches. “Let’s make sure we’re ready in case if a few ninja stayed behind, though.”

“Yeah.” Zasha puts on her cape, and Corrin puts her armor on, taking her sword. Grabbing her tome, Zasha follows Corrin outside, and they head to the lake. Standing in front of it, they watch how the sun’s rays dance along the gentle waves. Zasha sighs. Corrin turns to her left, seeing Zasha’s wide smile. “Don’t you think it’s pretty? All the colors shine on the water… It’s my favorite thing to watch.”

“...It’s nice to watch, yeah.” Corrin turns back to the water. She sits down, cross-legged. Zasha goes to a squat, then leans back. “...If I were to… If I were to die, what would you do?” Corrin’s smile drops.

“...What are you saying?” Zasha turns her body to the left to look at her, brows knotting with confusion.

“I mean… Well, I might be on a dangerous mission after we take Fenmarsh back. What would you do if I died?” Corrin asks, turning her head to face Zasha.

“I… I don’t know… You’re my best friend.” Corrin’s brows knot with confusion, then she gets rid of that face. “I don’t… I don’t think about losing you. I don’t want it to ever happen. I’ll do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t.” Zasha’s brows drop at the inside corners, a look of determination on her face.

“...What if you’re not around to stop it?”

“...I…” Zasha looks down to the right. “I…” Her lips begin to quiver.

“A-Ah! Sorry, Zasha, I didn’t mean to-!”

“I-It’s fine. I… I have to think about things like this. I just… I never thought about losing my master.  It’s been so many months after he died, and I still feel… I feel so sad after I remember him. He was an incredible man. He taught me everything I know- at least everything I knew until we joined the army- and I still feel so connected to him. He was like a father to me.” She looks down. “I don’t… I don’t want to lose you either. Please… Please, no matter what happens, please live.” Zasha looks away from Corrin, to the right, wiping her eyes. Corrin then turns her back around, grabbing Zasha’s shoulders after moving her body to face Zasha.

“Zasha, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be talking like this. I’ll live. I’ll make sure of it. No matter what I need to do, I’ll live. For you. For Azura. For everyone.” Zasha looks at her, eyes still bleary.

“Corrin… I…” Zasha looks down. “I…” She shuts her eyes tight. Opening them and looking up at Corrin, she says, “You’re a good friend.” She makes a weak smile as her eyes’ light wavers. Corrin releases her grip from Zasha’s shoulders, putting her hands down.

“Zasha, you don’t need to cry. I care about you, too.” Corrin smiles at her. Zasha smiles, cocking her head to the left.

“You mean it?”

“Yes, I mean it.” Zasha moves her head back up. They stare at each other for a moment, then Corrin turns back to the lake. “This is still a nice view.” She looks back at Zasha, who was staring at Corrin. Zasha looks to the right quickly.

“S-Sorry, didn’t mean to stare.”

“It’s fine. I was just gonna ask if you wanna stay here a bit longer.”

“Yeah… That sounds nice.” Corrin turns forward again, and Zasha drags herself to sit closer to Corrin. “...Do you have any plans for after the war? Or at least after we retire?”

“...Probably find a quiet place to settle down. I’m not a fan of cities.” Corrin looks up, stars slowly fading out, minus four.  _ Always four… _ Corrin shakes her head. “What about you?”

“Same thing as you. Cities are too loud for me.” Zasha looks up too. “What do you wanna do, though?”

“...Probably just farm more. Live simple.”

“...I’m not good for working like that. I’d probably need help from someone like you… Heh.” Zasha chuckles, looking down.

“What is it?” Corrin asks, looking at her. Zasha turns to Corrin.

“I was just thinking, ‘What if we lived together?’. That sounds funny, just the two of us alone on some tiny farm in the middle of nowhere.”

“...I don’t think it’s too funny,” Corrin replies.

“What do you mean?”

“I guess two girls living together sounds nice,” Corrin says.

“...Yeah, it does.”

They sit in front of the lake as the sun rises higher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the HUGE delay. I was hanging out with a friend for a while, and I hit writer's block right before too. Updates on this will resume, hopefully at a fast pace.


	19. PART 4 END - “We need to wait.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A big mistake? Or pure luck?  
> Warning for graphic violence in this chapter.

A few more bland days pass by, ‘The Gale, Undying Flame, and Frozen Spirit’ being read at a comfortable pace, Zasha controlling her excitement for the story as she manages to slow down with her reading of it, however, the day Elise’s captains arrive, the army mobilizes, ready to head to the south. Despite the anticipation, no speech was made, only the order to dismantle the camp and head out the day after. Corrin’s squad takes their time, making sure to grab every piece of the tent and organizing them all. Working in silence, they finally put them in the supply carts, and then head into their carriage, ready to move out. Zasha and Corrin sit across from each other. Silence fills the cart, and Corrin and Zasha simply look awkwardly at each other, wanting to talk but not wanting to draw attention. Zasha ends up leaning back and falling asleep silently. Corrin sees the others doing the same once it got darker; despite this, they continued moving, only finally stopping when they reached the city in the morning. Their arrival is greeted by the sound of siege engines lobbing their payloads and enemies sending their own weapons to attack the walls. The soldiers, needing a break, take time in the base camp, mingling with the forces of Hans.

“So, this is really it?” Zasha says to Corrin as they meet in one of the houses repurposed as an area for soldiers to rest. Corrin turns to her, looking to her left. “This is a real battle we’ll be experiencing. Not some surprise raid, but a full-blown siege, charging out in the middle of a field, face to face with the enemy. Zasha continues to unpack her gear, turning her back on Corrin.

“...Yeah, this is it,” Corrin says, looking through a window to the right. “I wonder when we’ll be really fighting. Tomorrow? The day after?”

“I’m wondering that too,” Drake says, cutting in as he enters.Corrin and Zasha turn around to face him. He sets his gear by a cot set down in the upper right corner. The last two members of the squad enter.

The whole of them organize their supplies, laying weapons out on a table off to the left side, chairs by it; judging by the cabinets and tiled counters, it was most likely a kitchen before the citizens were evacuated all those months ago. Corrin feels that painful sting of familiarity, but brushes it off to the side as they all step back outside, ready to hear their orders. Surprisingly, it was not Niles who spoke. Instead, it was a man with fame behind his name, standing proudly in armor shining with a deep purple trim of stained steel in the center of each shoulder pad. His body was broad, rippling muscles obvious underneath the armor and leather on his arms. His face was one with a defined forehead, his chin strong and cratered. Cheekbones rose up harshly, his eyes piercing. Despite his almost menacing face, he gave off a strong aura, one that was comforting yet galvanizing. With a deep voice, his voice booms over the exchange of siege engines behind him. Despite recognizing him as Hans, and feeling the energy around her growing as people gain courage from his speech, his words are only half-heard to Corrin, whose mind fills with feelings deep in her gut rising up. She thanks the gods that she was right by the building, and she leans against it, lowering herself to the ground.

Clutching her chest, she breathes in and out, visions rolling around in her mind. Words uttered by the voice try to break her out of it, but she doesn’t hear them. She feels herself moving along, the world gray, the voice rising in volume. The words roll away, her breaths filling her ears. She licks her teeth, fangs growing in. She hears the cracks and booms of battle, and she continues moving, the world still gray, until she feels pure pain sliding through her left shoulder. She blinks, and sees a naginata cutting deeply near her collarbone. She twitches, then sees an arrow fly into the soldier, and feels a hand on her right shoulder moving her back. Drake looks her squarely in the face, a mix of fear and anger showing.

“What the hell was that?!” he manages to say over the din. “You’re not fighting?! What the hell is wrong with you?! Pull out your damn sword!” he yells, moving her hand to hold it. She stares at him, dazed, then pulls it out. He moves away, aiming more arrows and firing them into the crowd of Hoshidan soldiers. She moves closer, her mind closing up again.

_ No! Stay with me! Dammit Corrin, don’t fade out now! You need to stay here! Stay here! Don’t let it rise up again! _ Despite the voice screaming out clearly now, she looks down, the world turning gray. A sharp pain flying into her makes her look up, with her feeling blood choke her. The world clears up, and she looks down, an arrow directly into her left side. Another flies in, hitting her in the right. She hears a distant yell, a familiar voice filled with panic, then she feels her body pulse.  _ Corrin! C o r r i . . . ! _

She blinks, and sees the grayed ground fade away as she grew taller, and she moves forward, her vision clearing up. Red was filling her vision, glowing bodies of black and white shining out. She feels the danger, the animosity, the hate from the white forms, and charges through, slamming her completely shifted right forelimb, smashing one of the white forms, and she charges up, leaping into the air. She swings around, far away from the black forms which were moving back. The white ones try to move away, and she swings her body around, claws smashing them apart as they slam down on the white forms, and her tail whipping around, sending them flying and rending them apart. A feral roar escapes her mouth, and she continues stomping around. Her vision begins to clear up more and more, and she sees the details of each form in their pure white state, faces open in fear, futile attempts to attack her rising up. Arrows fly into her, and she simply fills with something like hate, and charges around. Swinging a hoof, she stomps on a soldier, a sickening crunch following as her claw breaks him deep into the ground. Other soldiers move away, and she swipes at them, hearing more crunches before they fly into the horde of the other Hoshidans. She continues to rampage, leaping into the air again, slamming, the force of her fall shaking the earth and making the soldiers stumble and fall. She slams down on all of them, kicking and stomping as if she’s some kind of wild horse trying to throw off a rider trying to break her in. She roars again, and turns her head to the back of the Hoshidan army, seeing a decorated force trying to land arrows and nageyari on her. She charges forward at them, the other soldiers running off to the sides as they try to move away from her. She rises up, seeing a man with a defined nose and helmet almost wholly covering his face moving back from her. Despite the look of fear on his face, he charges at her, dodging swipes and stomps as he swings a naginata made of silver into her legs. She moves back, feeling pain, and then fills with some kind of energy. She roars again, then opens her mouth wide, a giant burst of some kind of energized blue liquid covering him, sending him flying back as his body crunches. The other soldiers run away, fleeing the field. She tries to charge again, then stumbles, and falls.

 

**\- - -**

 

Corrin opens her eyes, seeing stone tiles beneath her, feeling pure soreness and exhaustion pulsing through her with every heartbeat. Brutal hunger tears at her gut. Looking around, she notices deep yet scar-filled gashes on her calves, her feet bare and calloused. Her clothes were free from her armor, her sword gone. She scans the area around her. It was almost purely dark, light coming from the right side, around the wall. She feels a cold and humid air, thick and uncomfortable to bring into her lungs. Then she notices the most notable thing about the room.

Bars were keeping her locked inside.

_...Well, this is a real mess we’re in, isn’t it? _

“What…?” Corrin says, barely able to think and articulate herself with the hunger tearing her apart, her parched throat cracking her voice apart.

_ You went berserk. You controlled it before, but now… Why? What the hell happened? _

“I… I didn’t… I was hearing the speech… T-Then I…” She closes her eyes, trying to remember. Then a flash of pure pain fills her, and she yelps, her voice cracking apart.

_ D-Don’t strain yourself! Please, stay with me. We can’t lose you! I… I can’t lose you! _ Corrin opens them, her mouth open from the yelp.

“...’W-We’?” she manages to utter.

_...Forget that. I can’t explain now. For now… We need to see what happens. _

“...What do you m-mean?”

_...When you went berserk, you tore apart a third of the enemy army. We won the battle by a landslide. Only a few casualties were made, and none by you. _ The voice pauses.  _...Don’t panic, now. You… You were taken away. And then I blacked out too. _ Another pause.  _...We need to wait. _

The area falls silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christ, this took forever to make. I hit a huge writing block, I am SO sorry. I hope that you can wait for the next one. It might take a while too.


	20. PART 5 - Chapter 1 - “Whoops.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New faces, and a helpful mistake.

“Get up,” a haughty voice barks. Corrin opens a weak eyelid, seeing a man in front of her, his form blocked by the dark of the hall beyond her bars. Despite having his armor on, he’s rather lean, yet still towering over her slumped form. As her eyes adjust to the new darkness, she sees his armor is built regally, and that he holds a book at his left side. A name floats around in her head. She manages to open her lips, her voice broken and cracking.

“L-Leon?”

“Leo! My name is Leo! And you…” She then sees him freeze up-  _ Is he afraid? _ \- and then speak again, his voice muted. “...And you...You are some kind of creature.” Despite his lower tone, his voice still holds animosity, yet a weak form of it, as if it’s a facade. “You…You did aid us in that battle, but…You’re still some kind of monster. Like those Faceless. And who knows when you’ll snap on us? When you’ll just degenerate,” he says, his teeth clenching and his face crinkling up in a mix of hate and something else. “To think you might’ve been…” He stops, shutting his eyes tight, his body shaking slightly. He was holding tightly to his book, pressing it against the cold steel covering his chest. “You’re not her. You’ll never be her.”

“Who…are you talking about?” Corrin says, her voice breaking more. She manages a pathetic and dry cough, and as she looks up, she sees him staring down, panting. Sweat covers his entire face, a mix of panic and confusion in his eyes. His brows were still fierce, smashing down in the center.

“I-It’s not important. You…You’re not important. You can die for all I care. You…” He shuts his eyes tight, then opens them, a cold face growing on him, his breath stable. “You’re just a pathetic wor-!”

“Lord Leo, there you are!” a voice says, combined with steps along the stone floor. Leo whips his head to the right, turning to face the new arrival.

“Geoffrey…?” A pause follows, Leo’s face filled with wild confusion. “You insolent-!”

“L-Lord Leo, please understand!” Geoffrey wrings his hands together. “Your sister requests your presence in the war meeting,” the old man begins, moving towards Leo. He continues in a whisper, Corrin’s ears barely picking up the last words. “Lady Camilla doesn’t want to wait any longer, especially when we’re dealing with another-”

“SHE IS NOTHING LIKE US!” Leo yells, seething and panting with anger. He then takes a deep breath, collecting himself. “I’m…I’m sorry, Geoffrey. I’ll head up now. I just…I needed a moment, I suppose.” Leo moves past the butler, Corrin seeing only his back. Geoffrey glances nervously at Corrin before running after Leo.

Another set of footsteps come, from a soldier clad in full armor and a face-covering helmet. He carries a tray of bread and water, and puts them down in front of Corrin’s cell. Carefully sliding it through a small gap in the center of the bottom, he moves away quickly. Corrin crawls towards the tray, practically throwing herself forward as she opens her eyes wide with need. She manages to sit up in front of it, and grabs the bread, slowly nibbling on it, letting out a shaky sigh of relief and euphoria at tasting her first meal in what feels like years. She takes careful sips of the water, before looking up at the soldier, who takes a step back. Corrin notices him shaking, so she makes a weak smile.

“Th-Thank you,” Corrin sputters. He takes another step back, then darts his head around.

“You’re…welcome.” He turns around quickly and runs out of Corrin’s view. She turns back to the bread and water and continues to eat. She finally finishes eating the bread, thankful for the entire loaf given to her. She moves on to finish the water, taking gentle sips.

As if her drinking was blocking out her other senses, when she looks up from the tall wooden cup Corrin sees an intimidating yet enviable figure, with long and pale lavender hair flowing down her neck and around her shoulders, and eyes like a mask hiding what could be curiosity or caution.

Silence falls.

“...Uh, hello,” Corrin manages to croak.

“Yes, hello indeed, darling,” the woman says, her face still neutral. Corrin then recognizes pieces of her face.

“You…You’re Camilla, aren’t you?” The woman raises her right brow- the one above the only visible eye on her face.

“And what proof do you have of that?”

“I…” Corrin freezes up, and looks down, moving her hands in front of her knees. A soft chuckle makes her snap her head up again.

“You poor thing, cold and starving in here,” the woman says with a soft smile. “I can’t believe my little Leo had you locked up first, despite what all of those soldiers with you said. That mage girl and those ninja were especially interesting…” The woman pauses, looking to her left. “To think people would be so devoted to you, even defecting,” she sighs, turning back to Corrin. “You’re not the monster Leo’s trying to say you are.” She smiles wider, kneeling to look Corrin in the face. “Unless if you’re hiding a secret?” she says again, her smile gone, her breath stinking with malice.

“N-No, ma’am,” Corrin says, darting her eyes downward. Another chuckle.

“Relax, Corrin. It was a simple joke.” Corrin looks up at her. “Yes, I am indeed Camilla. And I know all about you and your fancy tricks. I read the reports from those ninja, Niles, and any other soldiers’ accounts. Like that…‘Zanna’, was it? Sh-”

“HER NAME IS ZASHA!” Corrin snaps, clenching her teeth. She begins to huff, her right eyelid twitching. She then collects herself, and looks down. “S-Sorry, Lady Camilla…I...I just…”

“Don’t worry, dear. I know what it’s like to have someone dear to you. Family, for example…”

“...I guess you could say she’s like family,” Corrin mumbles, still looking down feebly. “...Sorry again,” Corrin begins, looking up, “Lady Camilla.”

“Again with ‘Lady’. Polite, but unnecessary. After all, with someone who can fight as well as you, I’d be glad to call you my equal.” Another smile. “You don’t need to keep kneeling, darling.”

Corrin looks up at Camilla, then stands. “I bet you have plenty of questions, Corrin. What would you like to ask first?”

Corrin takes a moment to think. “...How long was I out for?”

“About three weeks.”

“Thr-Three weeks?!” Corrin stammers, flinching.

“Yes,” Camilla begins, “You must’ve exhausted yourself horribly.”

“...I uh…” Corrin clears her throat. “What happened to the others in my squad? Zasha and the rest?”

“They were first taken into custody. Think an interrogation, but not too harsh. We just wanted to know if any of them knew about you. There was this odd one, however…” Camilla raises her right hand to her chin. “Her name was Azura. I felt as if I recognized her, yet…She probably has one of those faces.”

Corrin gulps. “Y-Yeah, that’s probably it.”

“‘Probably’?” Camilla says, raising her right brow. “Do you know something?”

“I w-was just talking normally! The only real secret I know is…Well, you know it now.” Corrin looks down, hoping she doesn’t show her evasion. Camilla looks at her with curiosity, then lowers her brow, looking to the left.

“In any case, any other questions?”

“...When am I gonna get out of here?”

“That’s a question I have as well. Leo’s been pushing for execution of all things, yet Elise is begging him to show mercy. And Xander remains undecided. If our general is still on the fence, then we might wait for a long time.” Camilla closes her eyes and sighs. Opening them, she smiles. “Don’t worry, though. I’m certain things will turn out for the best.”

“I hope so…” Corrin sighs, looking down.

“...I’m afraid to say you need to wait in here a while longer. Is that alright?”

“...Yeah.”

 

**\- - -**

 

_ So, you’re thinking about her, huh? _ The voice speaks up after a long while of silence.

_...Yeah. _ Corrin looks down, closing her eyes.

_ I understand. I have someone to think about as well… _

_ Who? _ Corrin raises her head and right brow.

_...They’re not important. Not to you, at least. _

_ If they’re important to you, then I’d say they’re important to me. We share this body, or something like that, right? We should be closer than just something like two people working in the same shop. _

_...I suppose you’re right, Corrin. _ The voice pauses. Corrin thinks she hears it sigh.

_ I never did learn your name.  _ Corrin changes the subject.

_...I don’t have one. _

_ What do you mean? How can you not have a name? _

_ I wasn’t exactly born or anything, or given a name by any caretaker. I’m just something that exists. Not human, just some kind of spirit. The spirit that gives you your dragon form. _

_ ‘Dragon’, huh? That’s what it is? _

_ Yes. That’s why you’re so important. Dragons are divine creatures. The only true Dragons before you are the Dawn and Dusk Dragons. Black and white… I suppose you’re the Gray Dragon, since you’re a mix of the two holy bloodlines. _

_ That explains my scales’ colors. _

_ Yes, I suppose it does. _

_...Is there anything I need to know? About my powers or future or anything? _

A pause.  _...You have something like an affinity for water. You can energize it, fire it like magic. Remember how you turned your limbs into dragon parts? Try forcing energy into making openings in your arms, then force energy through them. _

_...Like magic…? _

_ Yes. _

Corrin goes silent, then opens her eyes. As if some kind of new energy fills them, she raises her hand. It begins to vibrate, scales growing over it. She feels something like a second mouth open up in her palm, and then she forces immense energy into it. Her eyes light up with gray-blue, the veins filling her peripherals. A blast of energy flies into the bars, making a harsh creaking as they erode away, with the residue of Corrin’s blast on the broken edges.

…“Whoops.” Corrin stands, and sighs. “I guess I might as well step out, and see what they’re trying to do with me.”

_ That seems risky, but waiting doesn’t seem smart either. Good luck. _

“You’re pretty funny, you know that?” Corrin smiles.

_ Says the girl talking to thin air. _ Both Corrin and the voice chuckle.

Corrin takes her first steps out of the cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIATUS IS OVER! I'm so glad that I managed to start writing again. I finished this in two days! My energy is back, just in time for school, though. I start it on Monday, the 29th of August. I'll be updating as often as I can.  
> Talking on the story now, I didn't realize until after I finished writing it how much this scene is similar to a scene in Attack on Titan. Hopefully I don't make more mistakes that lead to this looking like a rip-off from now on.


	21. PART 5 - Chapter 2 - “I’m erasing you right now!”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reversal.

“I’m telling you, she’s- ‘IT’S’ not to be trusted.” A familiar voice sounds off from a nearby room. Corrin makes her way quietly to it, bare feet silent on the floor. A feminine voice replies.

“Leo, darling, you need to calm down. She’s only helped us.”

“Why do you refer to that thing as if it’s human like us? It’s a monster,” the first voice responds, animosity dripping inside of it.

“Leo, why are you talking about her like this? I’ve never seen you act this way before.” Corrin moves closer, her back hugging the wall to the left of the door’s opening. Silence falls as she stops, her hand millimeters away from the opening.

“...I read…I read something about dragons. That’s what she is. A dragon. Just like our gods, the Dawn and Dusk Dragons. But she’s obviously not some god, just a freak of nature,” Leo spits.

“Wait, a dragon?” the other voice replies. “Wouldn’t that mean she shares our blood in some way?”

“...She’s a third dragon,” Leo says, his voice beginning to waver. “Th-That’s all she is. Another creature, but…not something like our gods, like our bloodline.” A pause. Leo breathes deep. “Camilla, don’t make any connection to her. She’ll just turn savage and ruin everything.” Silence falls.

“...Leo.” Camilla’s voice, in contrast to Leo’s, was firm. “I’m not turning my back on this girl. Especially if she’s a third dragon.”

“Why does that matter?!” Leo snaps. Camilla pauses, taking a deep breath.

“Leo, darling…” Camilla sighs, her tone becoming more gentle. “A third dragon means we have what might as well be a god on our side. Doesn’t that fill you with determination? Or, hope? Anything? We can win this war. We have something- no, someone- that can take down Sumeragi.” Corrin hears Camilla’s boots clack against the floor, coming closer to where Corrin assumes Leo stands. “Doesn’t that excite you? Knowing that this war can be finished so much earlier?”

“...It doesn’t. This war isn’t to be won relying on false gods, only ourselves.” Corrin hears Leo’s boots step towards her way. Her eyes dart around for a moment, as she holds in her panicked breaths. She sees his shadow appear in the doorway. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to interrogate it more. If it goes berserk, then hopefully the magic seals we have in place will keep it restrained. If not, then we know we need to move it away from here.” Leo steps into the hall, and walks down, towards the stairs.

Corrin bites her lips, breathing carefully through her nose as she keeps her newly clawed hands and feet dug into the wooden support beams on the ceiling. When she hears Leo’s footsteps disappear, followed by a sigh from Camilla and the disappearing clacks of her boots, she carefully lowers herself to the ground, sighing with relief as she stretches the soreness from her arms.

_ So they’re undecided on what to do with me…?  _ Corrin walks into the room. It lies bare, with an entrance into the next hall to Corrin’s right.  _ I can’t approach this ‘Xander’ to try to convince him…What can I do, then?  _ She brings her left hand to her chin.

“...Elise!” she says, snapping her fingers. “If I can speak to her, show that I’m still...human enough, then maybe she can convince everyone else that I’m harmless.” She smiles a bit, then looks around.  _ Now I just need to find her. Or at least figure out where she is. _

 

**\- - -**

 

Sneaking through the fort was much easier than Corrin first expected, but as she takes a moment to hide behind a barrel as three soldiers walk down the hall, she pauses, realizing something important.

_ I need to find some kind of letter if she isn’t in here...or eavesdrop on what the soldiers are saying. And they could be talking about anything… _ Corrin sighs.  _...Maybe I can try to figure something out with this shapeshifting.  _ Straining herself, Corrin puts energy into trying to compress herself.

“...Nngh… Nruagh!” she grunts as her head begins to pound.  _ No use… I can only get larger, apparently.  _ Sighing again, Corrin stands up and moves through the halls, walking on her bare feet slowly. She stops as soon as she hears an unseen door to her right creaking open. Quickly jumping, she grabs into the ceiling, and holds herself in place.

“-Ocked at how we had to look for a chess set in the middle of a damn war,” the first soldier who steps out says. He groans, and the mage following him clears her throat.

“Well, it’s for the princess. Who are we to disobey?”

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t be complaining that much… It’s not like we’ll get our heads lopped off for disobeying. They’ll just find someone else. And even then, seeing her smile makes me feel reassured that we have a fighting chance, that we’re not on the wrong side. Say, speaking of Eli- I mean, the princess, who’s in charge of showing her to the healers’ quarters?” the soldier says, stretching his arms up.

“I heard it was going to be Clara, from the third squad. You know, ‘battle maid’ Clara,” the mage replies.

“Clara?! Oh man, then she’s gonna be busy today…”

“Why? Is that a problem?”

“Well, YOU know what I want to ask her…” The soldier and mage continue talking as they walk off. Corrin waits until she can’t hear them, then lowers herself.

“So, the healers’ quarters and this ‘battle maid’ Clara…” Corrin looks back and forth. Sighing, she walks down the same way the soldier and mage went. “If only there was a map of this place.” Corrin turns to her right, and sees a sign nailed into the wall by a doorway.

‘TO ARMORY/MESS HALL’.

“...Not where I’m headed, but it’s a good start.” Corrin walks through the doorway. “The mess hall is always in the middle of the fort. That was basic learning.” Corrin moves through an open area of the hall, before her blood runs cold with a single yell from behind her.

“SHE’S HERE!” Looking over her right shoulder, Corrin sees 3 soldiers standing in the doorway, two armed with bows and the third holding a sword. She turns forward, then runs. Going around the left turn, Corrin stops in her tracks as she steps into the wide open mess hall.

Soldiers fill the seats, holding their weapons at their sides, helmets next to their plates. Silence falls as she stands alone. Then everyone gets up, going into stances. She raises her hands.

“S-So, I’m assuming we can’t t-talk this out?” Corrin stammers, beginning to shake.

 

**\- - -**

 

“How the Hell did you escape?!” Leo barks. Corrin looks around the cell again, her arms and feet bound together.

“I just…broke out,” Corrin mutters in response.

“We had seals in place...things to keep you inside. How did you break out?! Only strong magic can counter them!” Leo retorts. “...Unless… You can use magic too?”

“Well, kind of… It’s hard to explain.”

“Well, that’s just great. Camilla, I told you execution is what we need to do. She’s a major threat! She can escape these bindings too, I bet.”

“Leo, please, reconsider this. She’s not going to hurt us, isn’t that right, Corrin?” Camilla forces a smile, trying to muster support for her argument.

“Y-Yeah! I just wanna help end this war,” Corrin says.

“‘End this war’ by slaughtering us all! Dammit… I don’t care what Xander thinks. I’m erasing you right now!” Leo towers over Corrin, holding open his tome, the pages flying open, throwing a harrowing glow over his face.

“Leo! What are you doing?!” Camilla says, trying to grab him. Despite being dwarfed by her in both height and bulk, his aura pushes her back, the book glowing more. His hair and collar dance in the energy from the tome. Corrin winces, shutting her eyes tight.

_ This is it, then…? _

“Brynhildr, listen to my words. Break the earth and reduce her to nothing but cinders!” As the tome’s glow peaks, a high voice cries out, the tome darkening and falling as Leo stumbles, tackled by a small form.

“STOOOOOOOOOP!”

“E-Elise?!” Camilla yelps, shocked. Corrin opens her eyes, seeing a young girl in royal attire smacking Leo with a staff. The glow disappears and the book lays still.

“Augh! E-Elise?! What are you- groh!- doing out of your room?! St-Stop that!” Leo snaps, catching the staff with his right hand.

“I heard all this yelling from upstairs, and then I learn that she broke out. I come down and I see you trying to kill this girl! L-Leo, why won’t you listen to me?!” Elise yells, eyes tearing up. “Please don’t kill her! She didn’t do anything! You’ll be as bad as them, Leo! As bad as them!” Elise frees her staff from Leo’s grip, and begins smacking him again.

“G-Gah! Elise, stop it!” Leo yells, covering his face with Brynhildr.

“Elise, darling, please relax,” Camilla says, gently grabbing the young princess on the shoulders. Elise stops swinging her staff, standing knock-kneed. Silence falls as Leo looks up at his younger sister.

“...Hey, thanks,” Corrin says, sighing with relief, looking at Elise in the face. Elise snaps her head quickly, facing Corrin.

“...No problem,” Elise replies, looking down at her shoes. Corrin smiles at her. “Are you uh...okay?”

“Me? Yeah, I’m fine. How are you?”

“I’m good, too. Alive, thanks to you.” Corrin makes a soft chuckle. “...Say, if it’s not too much, could I get out of these binds?” Leo glares at Elise, who ignores him and walks to Corrin, freeing Corrin’s hands. After Elise helps her up, Corrin stretches her hands out, then bends forward, touching her toes. “Alright… Thanks, Elise.”

“You’re welcome!” Elise smiles brightly, then turns to Leo with a pout. “What’s wrong with you, Leo? You were trying to kill her again!”

_ Again?! _

“Sisters, you don’t understand,” Leo says, shaking his head. “And...there’s nothing I can say to convince you. I suppose I give up. She’ll stay alive, for now.”

“‘For now’?” Camilla repeats, curious.

“Yes, ‘for now’ unless if she does anything to revoke that privilege. Do you hear me?” Leo says, turning to Corrin. “If you dare to harm my family, I will execute you personally.” Leo holds up Brynhildr menacingly.

“She won’t do that!” Elise yells, moving in between him and Corrin, her staff up as if she was blocking an invisible hit.

“Y-Yeah! I won’t do that,” Corrin says, hands up in defense.

“...I believe you.” Leo lowers Brynhildr to his side, holding it in his right elbow. Silence fills the room.

“...Maybe we should talk to brother,” Elise says, “to tell him our decision.”

“Yes…I believe that’s a good idea.” Camilla smiles gently, and moves to exit the room. Leo follows, with Elise trailing behind. Stopping in the doorway, Elise turns around.

“C’mon, Corrin. You come too.”

Corrin nods, and follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, school has really been kicking my butt lately. Sorry for the long wait.


	22. PART 5 - Chapter 3 - “Good, you’re here.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An important meeting is delayed.

“Brother’s in here, right?” Elise asks, looking up at the young battle maid by the wide doors.

“Oh, yes, milady. But he’s resting now.”

“We have something really important to talk about, though! Are you sure you can’t let me in? I’m his little sister! And Leo and Camilla are with me!”

“He… He requested to not be disturbed by anyone. I’m sorry, Princess.” The maid looks down, avoiding Elise’s disappointed eyes.

“Please?” Elise asks again.

“No. I’m sorry.”

“Pretty please?”

“I’m sorry, no.”

“Pretty please with sugar on top?”

“No, Princess. I’m sorry.”

“Elise, it’s alright,” Camilla says, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll meet with him later. For now, we should look for ways to pass the time.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

Corrin shifts on her feet uncomfortably, noticing Leo glancing at her then away with disgust. Elise turns around to face them, oblivious. She slaps her cheeks, then smiles with determination.

“I have an idea! Let’s all play a game!”

“We don’t have time for games, there’s a war going on,” Leo snaps.

“Please, Leo? It’ll just be checkers but with all four of us,” Elise begs. “You love checkers!”

“I prefer chess. And why would I want to play with...her?” Leo says, sneering as he glances at Corrin.

“It’s alright, Elise. I can sit it out. I’m feeling a bit tired anyways,” Corrin sighs, shying away from Leo’s harsh gaze. She doesn’t see the disappointment in Elise’s eyes.

“...Alright,” Elise says faintly. “We can do something else.” Corrin feels a stabbing pain jolt through her head, and winces, grabbing her temples.

“Glurgh-!” Corrin yelps. Elise flinches, startled.

“C-Corrin?”

“I’m… I’m fine.” Corrin brings her arms down. “I think… I think I need to lay down.”

“Oh… Alright,” Elise sighs. “I can find a Mend staff and heal you, if you think that would help.”   
“No need for that, I just need to lay down.”

“...Okay.” Elise walks down the hall, away from Xander’s chambers. “I’ll show you to my room. You can sleep in there.”

“E-Elise, that’s hardly appropriate! Letting a prisoner sleep in your own bed?” Leo snaps. “What are you thinking?!”

“Leo, stop being such a jerk! She can sleep in my bed if she wants!”

“I-It’s fine, really! I just need anywhere to rest my head,” Corrin says, nervously attempting to defuse the situation.

“How about she rests in my room, hmmm?” Camilla says. “I have a much larger bed than Elise’s, so you’ll be more comfortable, Corrin.” Corrin turns to the older princess and smiles with relief.

“Sister…” Leo begins, his face hardening. He opens his mouth to continue, then shuts it and looks away with a frown. “Nevermind. Enjoy your sleep, Corrin.” Leo glares at her with piercing eyes.

“...Thanks,” Corrin replies uneasily. She follows Camilla to the older princess’s room.

Inside was a decor that felt fit for a queen, with an enticing rose print on the bed’s frame. Corrin finds herself drawn to the large bed, its mattress soft to the touch as she gently puts her left hand on it. She sits down on it.

“Do you enjoy it?” Camilla asks with an expressionless gaze.

“Yeah… Yes, it feels nice. Can I really sleep here?”

“Of course, darling.” Camilla smiles, and moves to leave. “Sleep tight, and I’ll return when we’re ready to meet with Xander.” Corrin yawns, nodding.

Sleep falls with heavy eyelids.

 

**\- - -**

 

“Good, you’re here.” A familiar voice stirs Corrin from her prone state on the ground. She gets up, and looks around. A featureless void of grays and black surrounded Corrin, with a perplexing figure of light sitting on nothing in front of her. It steps down.

“You… You’re that voice, right?” Corrin says, rubbing her eyes.

“Yes indeed. And I owe you an explanation for why I brought you here.”

“Well, first,” Corrin begins, “Where is ‘here’?”

“This is what I’d like to call an ‘astral field’. It’s an area that I’ve created within our shared mind, where-”

“Wait wait wait, ‘shared mind’?” Corrin repeats, confused.

“Yes, we share this body, and we share this mind. I’ve been having some fun decorating while you’ve been awake. You can’t see much now, but in a moment, things are going to get interesting.” The form walks over to Corrin’s right, a meter ahead of her, and then raises up its left hand, causing a marble column to rise up. “Here, I control the landscape. That means you do, too. But for right now, I’ll be the one in charge of the area. We’re going to train our skills as a dragon.”

“What do you mean by that?” Corrin asks.

“First off, you’ve learned how to shift on command. Now I want to enhance individual features, such as the energy blast you did to break free. Question is, are you ready to work your mind to the fullest?”

“‘Mind’? Aren’t I shifting my body?”

“This has to do with brain memory as much as muscle memory. You need to formulate strategies just as much as you need to learn the motions. Let me know when you’re ready for our first challenge.” The form turns around to her, and crosses its arms, standing proudly.

“Well, now’s as good a time as any.” Corrin shifts into a fighting stance, moving her right hand to her side, then catches her error. “W-Wait, I don’t have my-” As she stammers, a simple iron sword forms within a sheath on her left side.

“There you go.” The form appears to smile. “Now, first challenge: You must defeat twenty foes within five minutes.”

“Twenty in five…” Corrin repeats, looking down. Looking back up, determination fueling her, she says three simple words.

“Bring it on.”

Walls rise up around her, forming something like an arena. The ground shifts, turning into a rugged landscape with unevenly high ground to her right. She turns to hop on it, then four smoky figures appear, their malicious white forms apparent against the dark void. She swings her sword, cutting one in half. It dissipates with a hiss. Corrin begins a silent count as she kicks the second back, slicing upwards at a third. Then the fourth grabs her from behind, and she forces energy out, releasing a burst of power that frees her. She lands on her feet and turns on her left toes to slash at the form behind her, just as she thrusts her right leg back, her foot turning into something like a drill to pierce the form she had kicked away. She returns her foot to its original shape as the figure collapses, its torso twisted into a mess of smoke. Moving back to a normal stance, Corrin steadies her breathing as six more beings appear around her.

They all pounce, and she jumps with strong legs to avoid their grab. One manages to catch her by the leg, dragging her back. She lands on her face, and rolls to the right to avoid a foot stomping on her head. Hopping up, Corrin steadies herself on both feet as she spins, swinging her sword around to create distance between her and the opponents. She manages to slice one in half, its body splitting then dissipating away, as the rest hop back to avoid her strike. She smirks, and flips her sword around in her right hand, turning back around to lunge at the nearest form. Charging at it, she grabs her sword with both hands and slashes horizontally at it, tearing through its torso with ease. The remaining four all leap back, and then charge forward together. Corrin, with nowhere to dodge to, simply braces for impact, shutting her eyes tight. They all land on her, pushing her down. She then opens her eyes slowly, gray filling her vision. Her sword is swallowed up by her scales as her body grows, breaking the grip of the forms. Then a flash of light bursts out, and she appears in her full dragon form. She was in complete control. With a simple stomp, she destroys one of the forms. The remaining three attempt to dodge as she spins around with her tail, slicing them all apart.

Then the remaining ten forms all appear. This time, they are all armed with their own kind of weaponry, and they charge forward, swords, axes, and lances raised high. She kicks out at two of them, sending them flying back into each other, a mess of white limbs mixing together before they disappear. The eight manage to reach her, the ones armed with lances using their longer range to prod at Corrin’s scaly hide. She leaps back, turning to face them. Lowering her head, she charges forward with her maw open, and grabs one of them in her teeth, gnashing hard and destroying it. Stomping around, she kicks away two more, and rears herself up like a horse, slamming down with both of her forelimbs to make the last five topple. She then stomps on all of them, grinding them into air. After nothing is left, she reverts, grabbing her sword out of the air in front of her when she finishes. Panting, she looks up at the form, who was descending down on a pillar in front of her.

“How...long did I take?” Corrin grunts.

“Two minutes. You’re pretty good,” it replies. “And that trick with the drill was great. Glad to see you getting inventive.”

“Thanks.” Corrin pauses, looking away. “...I have a question.”

“What is it?” the form asks.

“It’s about Leo…”

“Oh, boy. Hit me with it.”

“Why is he against me?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Personally, I would bet on him knowing about you, in some way. Don’t you remember that first encounter, months ago? Both him and that butler of his- Geoffrey, was it?- acted like they saw a ghost. And I’m sure you can’t remember from earlier, but just today he said ‘You’re not her,’ and ‘You’ll never be her.’” The form crosses its arms, leaning against the pillar. “Maybe he’s projecting some other girl’s image onto you. Someone who isn’t real.”

“But… But who?” Corrin asks.

Silence.

“...In any case, I think that now is a good time for you to wake up. Unless if you have something else to ask.”

“...No, I’m fine.”

“Alright. Well, we can talk later then.”

“Yeah. We’ll speak soon.” Corrin smiles at the form. Despite its face being featureless, Corrin knew it reciprocated the feeling.

She blinks, and opens her eyes to see the bed she was laying down in, Camilla’s room as beautiful as ever.

“Alright… I’m up.” She stretches, feeling her shoulders crack. “...I wonder when Camilla’s coming back.”

As if called in, a knocking on the door catches Corrin’s attention. The princess walks in.

“Are you ready?” Camilla asks.

Corrin nods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad I managed to get this chapter posted! I'm visiting the college I'm looking to go to today, and I'll be ready to write more on my return this Sunday! Hopefully I can get another chapter posted before the end of this month.


	23. PART 5 END - “So, you’re with us?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A grand decision.

“So, we’re going to meet Xander?” Corrin asks.

“Yeah, you’re gonna meet our big brother!” Elise says cheerfully.

“Don’t think you can do anything to him. He’s stronger than you, even in your dragon form,” Leo snaps.

Camilla sighs. “Leo, darling, can you not?”

“Excuse me?!”

“We’re bringing a guest to meet our brother. That’s it. No need to be rude to her.”

“...Fine.”

The four continue down the hall, until they reach the doors that lead to Xander’s room. They open the door, seeing a regal man clad in a noble outfit. His blond hair had a single curl against the side of his face. A strong nose sits in between two tired eyes.

“Ah… Camilla, Leo, Elise. Why are you all here? And who is that?”

Leo speaks first. “This is someone d-”

“This is someone very important to our cause,” Camilla says, cutting Leo off. He grimaces. Xander looks confused for a moment.

“How so?”

“She can turn into a dragon, Xander,” Camilla says with a deadpan face.

“...What?”

To confirm Camilla’s statement, Corrin raises up her arm and shifts it back and forth. Xander’s eyes widen.

“I… I see.”

“Do you see how dangerous she is, brother?” Leo snaps.

“Dangerous? Yes, very. In the hands of Hoshido, you would be a formidable weapon.” Corrin feels herself deflate.

_ Is he afraid of me, too? _

“With us, however, you’ll be a wonderful ally, Miss…?”

Corrin brightens. “C-Corrin! I’m Corrin. You don’t need to be formal.”

“The offer is there, Miss Corrin. I’ll provide you with all you need to live well after the war, if you lend your strength to our cause.”

“I-I was actually in the army before this!” Corrin sputters, filled with joy. “I’ll be your soldier, I’ll help end this war!”

“...Thank you, Corrin.” Xander stretches his right hand out to shake. Elise hops in place, filled with excitement. Camilla smiles. Leo sneers and looks away. “So, you’re with us?”

Corrin shakes Xander’s hand, smiling.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND PART 5 IS DONE! I can't wait to move on. This was a tough part to write, if I'm being honest. Get ready for Part 6!  
> Also, happy Nintendo NX- or should I say, Switch- Day!


	24. PART 6 - Chapter 1 - “Remember that you’re not alone.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A reunion.

“So, I’m in charge of our ultimate weapon. No pressure, Niles, no pressure,” the dark skinned man groans, looking down at his desk. Corrin shifts on her feet uncomfortably.

“U-Uh, Captain Niles, it’s good to see you-”

“Can it, kid. Can’t you see that I’m very, VERY stressed right now?”

“S-Sorry.”

“Ugh. Okay. I’LL apologize, how’s that. I’m sorry I snapped at you,” Niles says in a very sarcastic tone. “Now, will you let a man figure out how to reorganize his force AGAIN?”

“‘Again’?” Corrin asks, cocking her head to the right.

“Yes, AGAIN, thanks to you, AGAIN.”

“Wait, thanks to me?”

“Do you remember those ninja you got to join us? They ended up doing a great thing for us, by convincing an enemy force to defect. It managed to smooth tensions between everyone here, since we didn’t have to go through another fight. But tensions flared up once we realized we had to share a single camp with a force one and a half times its actual size.”

“Wh-What?!” Corrin sputters.  _ One and a half times?! _

“Yes, you heard me right. We’re oversized, but we can’t split up. And now, with you back, I have to probably reorganize squads AGAIN.”

“C-Can’t I just-?” Before Corrin can finish her question, the flapping of the tent cuts her off.

“Hey, is that…?”

“C-Corrin?!” Familiar voices cry out from the entrance to the tent. Corrin turns around to see old faces.

“Sh...Shea! Drake! Sarah! And…Zasha!” With a disgruntled Niles behind her, she runs to her old squad. Everyone embraces her, Zasha’s warm arms catching hold first. She looks around. Shea smiles, a fresh scar on his dark chin and warm-brown hair growing on the sides of his face, forming sideburns. His golden eyes reflected a kind feeling. Drake’s light skin is tanned now, his fierce brows having grown even fiercer with a thick scar cutting his right brow in half. His black hair had grown to his neck, short bangs forming over his forehead, almost reaching his green eyes. Sarah, in stark contrast to the men, looks even more proper, her troubadour uniform decorated with the markings of a strategist. Her brown hair is pulled into a short ponytail, with her blue eyes shining brightly. Zasha didn’t change at all, her wide gray eyes shining with joy, her dark brown hair away from her face. “How have you all been?” Corrin says, smiling wide.

“As good as people in war can be,” Drake says.

“It hasn’t been the easiest, especially with the Hoshidan defectors coming in… Food’s been low, but we’ve all managed,” Sarah adds.

“But enough about us,” Zasha concludes. “What’s been happening with you?”

“Me? Oh, well…” Corrin goes quiet, holding her chin in her right hand. “...Things were a bit weird, but now I’m back.” She looks at the group, smiling.

“But not for long,” Niles cuts in. Everyone turns to face him. “Corrin, you’re no longer another soldier. You’re special. And for that, you’ll have to be given your own special squad-”

“Can she stay with us?” Shea asks. “I-I mean, Sir! I mean no disrespect in interruption, but I believe we deserve to have Corrin with us again.”

“I agree with Shea,” Drake says sternly. “We deserve to have our old comrade back.”

“Yeah! Can we please have Corrin back?” Zasha pleads. “Pleeeaaase?”

Niles sighs. “You know what, it’s easiest. You’re all together again.” He turns back to his desk, looking at his notes. “I’ll just write your name back in, Corrin.” Everyone cheers, Zasha hugging Corrin again.

“Hey, guys, not to push you all away, but can I get a moment? I want to find someone,” Corrin says. “They’re outside of our squad.”

“Ah… Alright,” Zasha replies.

“We’ll be in our tent. It’s at the southern part of camp,” Drake states.

“Thanks!” Corrin says. She exits Niles’ tent, looking for someone.

 

**\- - -**

 

Sheer luck brings Corrin to her target. Entering the correct sleeping tent, she sees the familiar shade of pale blue hair, this time grown out to the shoulders. Azura turns around in her mat when Corrin clears her throat. She smiles faintly.

“Corrin… You came back.”

“Yeah! I’m finally here again. It feels good, seeing everyone again.” Corrin smiles back. “So, how have you been?”

“I’ve been fine, and I’m glad you feel well.” Azura motions for Corrin to sit next to her. Corrin moves to Azura’s left, and sits. “So, what happened?” Corrin stiffens.

“Well, you see…” Corrin explains what went on after the battle and while she was held prisoner.

“...And now you’re back, ready to follow orders again.” Azura keeps her hands folded by her chin, thinking.

“Yeah. Say, I missed all these days, have we done anything else beyond move camp more southward?”

“...We’re headed to Izumo.”

“Izumo? We’re going to fight there?”

“Yes. The time to act is now, while the Hoshidan forces attempt to pierce through the north. They should be less focused on protecting the southern entry, especially considering that it’s where the less important nations are. The Hoshidans don’t have much interest in them beyond being a place to send their undesirables.” Azura closes her eyes, and sighs. Corrin raises a brow.

“What’s wrong?”

“‘Undesirables’ means...we’ll be killing the people of the Tribes.” Corrin looks down.

“...Gods, why can’t we just go back to fighting Faceless again, instead of people. That was so much easier…”

“It’s never easy to fight, even when you know it’s to defend yourself, your friends or family, or the rights of others. It’s even harder to kill when you’re defending something; but remember that you’re not alone. I’m here with you. You have your friends. You have your family, however distant they may be.”

“...Yeah, you’re right. I have everyone with me. I have...my power, too.” Corrin brightens a bit, smiling at Azura. “So, when are we leaving?”

“Two days,” Azura says. Suddenly, a sneeze from outside. Corrin stands, instinctively shifting into a stance. Azura looks at the entrance flap, serious. Corrin creeps towards it, cautious.

“Hello?” she says, reaching her hand forward, opening the flap. Outside, she sees a familiar face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry everyone, I'm still alive, even if school's making that hard. Just doing my best to survive this year so that way summer can come back and I can work on this like a trooper once more!  
> And I did not do NaNoWriMo, so don't expect anything new beyond this fic.


	25. PART 6 - Chapter 2 - “Then it’s decided.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A group is formed.

“Zasha...? Why are you here?” Corrin asks, looking at her friend with worried eyes.

“...I was wondering where you went, and I ended up hearing a lot of what you said. And way back when, in training camp, I heard your conversation in there. I’ve been...afraid to talk to you about it.” Zasha runs a hand through her hair as she sighs. “So you’re royalty, huh...and you’ve got this big destiny ahead of you. And I’m not important in the grand scheme of things.”

“Zasha, that’s not true-!”

“It is. I know how things are. I’m not really that important, in the end. When they sent you away, to that prison for a while, I tried to vouch for you and only got reprimanded. I was nearly taken out of our squad and full-on court martialed. ‘Treason’, they said.” She smirks and looks down, a weak chuckle coming out. “I really couldn’t do anything.”

“Zasha...I...I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything.” Zasha looks back up at Corrin. “You’re a good friend, Corrin. But…” She bites her bottom lip, closing her eyes tight. She opens them, pain breaking her voice up. “But why didn’t you tell me about any of this before? I thought we trusted each other… I told you about myself, my friend, my history… I don’t even know why, I just felt like you were the first person I could really trust, picking me up from the side of the road like that…”

“...I’m sorry, Zasha. I really am. I should’ve been more open with you, especially since we’ve been together for so long… But…” Corrin looks away. “Before I met you, I had hurt another friend. Badly. I didn’t want that to happen to you. I...I care about you so much.”

Azura clears her throat. “I don’t mean to intrude, but… This complicates things.” Corrin and Zasha turn to face her. “We three need to keep this secret… Do you understand?”

“I hope you mean five,” a gritty voice says. As if from nowhere, two familiar forms appear.

“I knew there was something off about your dragon abilities,” the fiery ninja says. The stronger ninja beside him says nothing. “So, by ‘royalty’, you mean that you’ve got Hoshidan royal blood in you?”

“Oh for fucks sake,” Azura groans, prompting four surprised looks in her direction. “I’m sorry, but can we just leave it at five? I don’t want anymore surprises right now.” She sighs deeply.

“I made sure we weren’t being trailed. Niles is a sneaky one, but I caught on to him quickly,” Kagero says calmly.

“Now, answer my question. Are you Hoshidan royalty or not?” Saizo repeats, his brow furrowing.

“Yes,” Corrin replies.

“...I’d ask for you to prove it somehow, but that’s impossible. I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it. So...I ask you one more thing.” Saizo kneels in front of Corrin, his head low. Kagero opens her eyes wide in surprise. “Will you help me save my lord…your brother, Ryoma?” Without hesitation, Corrin answers.

“Of course. I’ll do anything to save him. I’ll save the rest of my family as well. I’ll do anything for them.”

“...Thank you, Corrin. Or should I say...my lord.” Saizo stands again. “And to return the favor, I’ll help you to end this bloody war once and for all.”

“Don’t ignore me,” Kagero says. “I’m in this, too. For everyone.”

“Me too,” Zasha says. “I’d follow you to the ends of the world, Corrin.”

“...Then it’s decided,” Azura says. “From now on, us five need to agree to keep this secret. At least, until Corrin decides to reveal this publicly.” Everyone nods in agreement. “And if we ever need to, we’ll meet up together throughout this war.” Another series of nods.

“Well, we’ll take our leave now,” Kagero says. In an instant, her and Saizo disappear. Zasha then speaks up.

“Corrin, do you wanna head back to our squad?” she asks, smiling slightly.

“Sure. See you later, Azura.”

“Yes, goodbye.” Azura waves politely as the other two leave.

 

**\- - -**

 

“Corrin!” Drake says happily as she and Zasha walk into the tent. “Glad to see you back with us in our humble abode,” he adds.

“Thanks, Drake. Say, what did I miss in our book?”

“We actually have not continued it since you left,” Shea says.

“It was Zasha’s suggestion, and we all agreed,” Sarah adds. Corrin smiles, then sits on her mat.

“...Thanks guys. Well, let’s get back to it.”

Zasha takes out the book, and she begins to read from where they left off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe I completed a whole, if incredibly short, chapter in just two days. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. I'm almost on Thanksgiving break too, so hopefully I can get another chapter done!  
> Happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there!


	26. PART 6 END - “So, today I’ll teach you more about me.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A final night before the siege.

Corrin rubs her hands together, anxious. “Are you sure that I have to be the one to say this? Why can’t you just go and give an informational speech without me, Niles?”

“It’s ‘Captain Niles.’ And I’m a bigger fan of showing than telling.” Niles gives a smirk at Corrin’s following fidgets. Dropping his smile, he continues speaking. “Relax, all you need to do is show off your dragon form again, and then I’ll handle the talking. Then we move out to Izumo. Simple as that.”

“...Alright.” Corrin grimaces. “I’m not...sure about being in front of a crowd like this though. Do I really have to?”

“Yes, you have to. Now come on, let’s go.”

“And does Captain Odin need to be here?”

Odin flinches, then steps out from beyond a wall in the tent. “How did you know I was here?” he asks, incredulous.

“You’re not very quiet, and I’ve got a good nose. I smelled you,” Corrin says. Odin raises his left arm up and takes a sniff, confused. Corrin turns to the entrance flaps, and takes a deep breath.

Niles chuckles. “Odin is here to provide magical backup in case if you decide to go a little wild,” Niles says calmly, to Corrin’s discomfort. “And Odin?”

“Yes, Niles?”

“Smelling yourself like that is just piggy. Especially in front of a lady.” Corrin feels a small blush spring to her cheeks.

“‘L-Lady?’” she stammers.

“I may be a dick, but I know when to be respectful. Now, let’s go, Corrin.” Niles pushes Corrin outside, and she takes a deep gulp as she steps into the open. The force stands assembled outside, some soldiers at attention, most of them sitting. A dull chatter dies down as people take notice of Corrin, Niles, and Odin. Corrin looks for her squad in the large crowd, and sighs with relief when she sees Zasha and the rest looking up at her. After Niles clears his throat loudly, the presentation begins. Niles speaks.

“Men, women, all else, we’re gathered today to discuss a major turning point for this war. Possibly, what could end the war. We have gained the aid of something--no, someone--who will help us.” Niles turns his head to Corrin, then looks back at the crowd. “This is Corrin. Before, you knew her as a fellow soldier. However, many of you witnessed an incredible ability she has during our last major encounter with the Hoshidan army. She has the ability to turn into something that, previous to that day, only existed in our dreams and nightmares: a dragon.” Niles gives Corrin a nod.

_ Alright… I can do this. I can do this. Deep breaths… Deep breaths. _ Corrin closes her eyes, and visualizes herself in dragon form. Putting mental effort into it, scales begin to form over her body. A flash of light appears, and she stands on all fours, much larger than before. Gasps and sounds of awe come from the crowd of soldiers. She manages to keep herself conscious as Niles continues. “Corrin here will be our living battering ram for the great gates of Izumo. Our plan of attack is a simple one. Hoshidan ninja, you gave us the intel on the layout of the palace’s defenses; however, they could be changed. We’ll have some of you infiltrate the area and provide us fresher intel on the soldiers stationed there. Their formation, guard posts, et cetera. After we get this information, we’ll prepare our arrangement accordingly, then us Nohrians will simply charge through the front gates, with Corrin at the front. Hoshidans, if we can manage to find another entrance, you’ll flank the enemy through that one. Otherwise, you follow our initial charge to reduce casualties. After that, our archers will push forward, sending their arrows into the enemy lines. By then, Corrin and the first line should connect with the enemy. I won’t lie to you. It’ll be a bloodbath. But I believe we can win. So long as we stand strong, so long as we don’t fold, we’ll be able to win. I’ll be back with the archers, but the other captains will be on the front lines, so you can turn to them for support. Now, give Captain Odin your attention.” Niles gives Corrin a nod, and she drops out of dragon form, slowly shrinking back down to reality. Odin and Niles exchange places in front of the crowd. Odin, standing in the middle, smiles proudly.

“Soldiers gathered here today, we prepare for a major battle, one that decides the fate of a nation: Izumo. But once we win, we then move on to Kohga and Mokushu. And I don’t say ‘if we win’- I say ‘once.’ Because, soldiers, we WILL win! We WILL be victorious in this battle! We WILL rise over the tyranny of Sumeragi’s Hoshido, and we WILL free the people of Izumo! This is going to be our greatest battle yet, our first true siege, and WE! WILL! TRIUMPH!” Odin raises his right fist into the air, and continues. “For the people of the world, we will rise above the nightmare of Sumeragi! And soldiers, remember,” he says, banging his chest with his fist in a tight salute. “Peace is our drive, to push these battles from our shore,” he begins, the soldiers following along. “All hail the king, and glory to Nohr!”

“All hail the king, and glory to Nohr!” the soldiers chant back. Corrin finds a smile breaking out of her face as she sees the Hoshidans joining in.

“You like what you see?” Niles says, suddenly next to her. Corrin flinches, and steps back. He smirks, then turns to the crowd. “I’m glad to see the Hoshidans transitioning well into our army. It makes leading them much easier.”

“They must really hate Sumeragi,” Corrin adds.

“I wouldn’t doubt it. He’s a true tyrant. My only fear is that he makes a major move while we move to Izumo. While Camilla and Xander’s troops are up north, only Elise is available in case of anything. And Xander and King Garon both made strict orders to keep her away from the fighting, so her retainers are both close to her. Her troops are stationed at the main castle, with Garon’s forces. But I’m hearing that there are plans to mobilize them soon, if Sumeragi doesn’t let up in the north. So this push on Izumo is a gamble. It most likely means we’ll be seeing a lot more action in the coming months. But if we don’t, it means somewhere else is facing more trouble. War’s a mess, am I right?” He smirks, despite the severity of his statement. Corrin looks down, uncomfortable. “Well, it doesn’t matter for now, I guess. The meeting’s over. Head back to your squad, relax before we move out.” Niles walks into the tent as Odin sends the troops off. Corrin walks into the crowd, heading to her friends.

 

**\- - -**

 

“‘The End.’” Zasha slams the book shut.

“That was good, Zasha! I love how you do different voices and tones for each character,” Sarah says.

“Aw, thanks.” Zasha chuckles a bit, smiling. “Do you guys wanna wait on starting our next book for after the battle in Izumo?” she asks.

“I don’t mind either way,” Corrin replies.

“We should wait, I say,” Sarah answers. “That way we won’t have to wait too long if the siege goes on without pause.”

“No,” Shea cuts in. Everyone turns to him. “We should have a bigger incentive to keep going, I think.” He smiles softly, a smile belying his fear. Drake raises his right index up, putting on a brighter tone.

“What more incentive do you need, though? We know what we’re all fighting for. We’re fighting for our families, our flag, and each other. We fight because we have one of those things waiting for us, don’t we?” He turns to everyone as he continues. “Zasha, what about you? What are you fighting for?”

“I...I’m fighting for someone I care about very much. Someone who trusts me greatly and I can’t let down,” she says, clenching her fists.

“And Corrin, what about you?”

“I’m fighting for my friends. That includes you guys, and people I’ve met before. People who showed me kindness when I needed it the most,” Corrin answers, looking down.

“And Sarah?”

“I’m fighting for my family. Well, healing for them. And I’m fighting for someone I care about a lot, just like Corrin.” She smiles faintly in Shea’s direction.

“And Shea? How about you? What are you fighting for?”

“...I am fighting for all of you. I really do not have any family to go back to, I just have my unit.” He sighs, a pained smile forming on his lips. “I suppose I look pathetic right now, saying all this. I can not even say I have a flag to fight for, since… Well, you all should know this now, before it complicates things.” Shea looks up, his eyes wavering. “I am not Shea.” Everyone exchanges confused glances.

“Wh...What are you talking about?” Sarah asks nervously.

“My real name is Shoichi. I am a member of the Wind Tribe. Who we will be most likely fighting in the coming siege are conscripted members of the three tribes. Which means we will potentially be fighting former friends and family I knew years before I managed to escape to Nohr. I am half Nohrian, you see. My mother…” He takes a deep breath, shutting his eyes tight, before continuing. “My mother died after dragging me to the capital. I managed to join the army because...I do not want to see any more innocents die. It is impossible, I know. But I still wish to make a future where peace will last. For everyone, Nohrian, Hoshidan, or Tribesman.” He looks up. “I am deeply sorry I kept this secret from all of you for so long. Please… Don’t tell anyone else.”

Silence falls over the tent.

“...Sh-Shoichi, I love you! I would never tell anyone else!” Sarah sputters, tears welling up. “None of us would betray you like that! You’re our friend, you’ve shed blood alongside all of us! We’re a team, and-”

“You love me?” Shoichi says, pink in the cheeks.

“...I… I uh…” Sarah chuckles nervously. “...Yes, I love you. I love you dearly, Shoichi.” Drake turns away, an annoyed look on his face.

“If you two are looking to confess to each other, do it after the coming battle. That way you won’t lose the ring if a hand goes missing,” he snaps.

“Hey, what’s your problem?” Zasha says angrily. “This is a very touching moment, you don’t have to be such a grump!”

“Look, I said it before. Love doesn’t belong on a battlefield. It’ll just make things more painful. Which is why you should be saying this after the fighting is over,” Drake replies, his face stern.

“You… You’re right,” Sarah says, looking down. “Shoichi… Promise me you’ll make it.”

“I promise, Sarah. And…” Shoichi smiles at her, bringing a gentle hand to her cheek. Sarah looks up. “I’ll protect you until the fighting is done.” Sarah smiles, tears falling.

“Sho… D-Do you mind if I call you ‘Sho’?”

“I think it sounds wonderful,” Shoichi says.

“Are you two finished? We should rest up,” Drake says, rolling over on his mat. “Put out the lantern when you’re done making a mess.”

An awkward silence falls over the tent. Sarah then smiles at Shoichi, and then mumbles, “Goodnight,” softly to him. He smiles back, and then gives her a quick hug. They split and then lay on their respective mats. Zasha sighs, smiles, then shakes her head. She shrugs in Corrin’s direction, then lays down.

“Goodnight, everyone,” Zasha says.

“Yeah, goodnight,” Corrin replies.

“Goodnight,” Shoichi and Sarah say in unison.

“Sleep well,” Drake says. Corrin puts out the lantern, then lays down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes Part 6! Thank you for reading this far!


	27. Part 6 and 7 Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We ride to Izumo!

Welcome back folks! Last time, we watched as Corrin faced off against a force of Hoshido led by the mysterious ninja Saizo and Kagero. A shock to all, Saizo and Kagero defected after seeing Corrin’s noble spirit! Saizo then told the Nohrians of a shocking tale: the tyrant Sumeragi is holding his own children hostage! In lighter news, Corrin and Zasha make a promise to be with each other after the war ends. So sweet! However, trouble happens in paradise: When the next battle comes, Corrin loses control and goes into her dragon form! She’s taken away to an unknown prison where her fate will be decided after. She then meets the royals of Nohr: Leo, Camilla, Elise, and Xander! She “accidentally” breaks out of prison with a certain someone’s help, and then she’s allowed to go free after winning over the hearts of the royals- except for Leo, who seems to hold some personal grudge against her. Perhaps he knows something… We’ll find out soon, won’t we? Well, Corrin then meets with Azura after her return. Zasha, Saizo, and Kagero were all listening in, and they learned of Corrin’s secret: She’s actually a royal of both countries! They promise to hold this secret in. And then, ANOTHER secret is revealed: Shea is truly a man of the Wind Tribe known as Shoichi!

And now…

 

**\- - -**

 

The cart was heading to Izumo. Corrin sat with her hands knot, anxiety filling her.

_ Hey, you alright? _ The voice spoke up.

_ No, not really. _

_ Do you want to...well, ‘talk’ is a weird word for it. _

_...I’m scared. I’m scared I’ll go berserk again, and that I’ll hurt Zasha. Or Shoichi. Or anyone. _

_ Don’t be. I’m here. I’ve been...working hard while you’ve been going through this war. I’m ready to tell you some important things...but they’ll have to wait. _

_ Wait? _ Corrin looks up, biting her lip.  _ Why do I need to wait? _

_ Because this is news that needs time to settle. You’re about to go into a battle, you need a clear mind. _

_...I guess that makes sense. But please, don’t keep me waiting any longer than you need to. _

_ Of course not. And Corrin? _

_ Yeah?  _ Corrin sat for a moment.

_ Get some rest. You need it. And good luck. _

_...Thank you. _

Corrin goes to sleep, closing her eyes as ruins of once towering buildings pass by on the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOAH! TODAY'S DIRECT WAS EX-CI-TING! I'm hyped as Hell for everything! How about you guys? How are you feeling? Reminder that my Twitter for writing is @AvianGuard and my personal is @gamecubesequel! Hit me up if you wanna talk about how happy you are!  
> Also, normal updates will begin soon. I still have some finals left to do!


	28. An Apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So sorry.
> 
> TL;DR: The Hero of Fate is going to rest, potentially forever.

This is an apology from me, Frederika Xena Castillo. I'm the writer of The Hero of Fate, and I'm sad to announce that this is now to be on indefinite hiatus, potentially forever.

To explain: I have lost interest in Fire Emblem: Fates. I was never truly interested in it, I guess. I only started this out of a need to vent out my initial fixation on it- once I played the game however, my mood shifted on it. It's...honestly, my least favorite game in the series. The only real connection I made to any of the characters was through the fics I wrote- I never enjoyed Niles until I wrote him as a bisexual snark with a half hidden sense of justice. Only a few characters stuck out to me...I have to say, it's probably my biggest gaming disappointment of 2016. Why, even the idol spin-off everyone hated, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, was better, in my opinion.

I apologize to any fans of this fic. I really do. But I just can't bring myself to work on it anymore without feeling like I'm lying to you guys.

I hope you can envision your own endings to my Corrin's story. I hope you can enjoy the fic of your dreams, and not what I would've wrote with half my heart in it.

That being said, see the fic I'm writing with all my heart, over here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/9313331/chapters/21108056

It's a DanganRonpa story, but you don't need any real knowledge of the series to begin reading. It only helps, as a primer to understand the context and what the main themes are. If you like to bury your faves, it's the story for you. And expect me to be crying with you.


End file.
